


Good Soldiers

by Rasalahuge



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, Supernatural
Genre: Clones are Angels, End of the World, Falling In Love, Fusion, Hurt/Comfort, Jedi are Hunters, Multi, Supernatural Season 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-03-17 21:38:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 31,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13667805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rasalahuge/pseuds/Rasalahuge
Summary: Obi-Wan comes back from Hell with a handprint burned into his shoulder. Anakin stares at him for a long moment, bursts into laughter and asks if his brother has been groped by a demon. Obi-Wan is not amused.Anakin and Obi-Wan are brothers and hunters. One year ago Obi-Wan sold his soul to save his brother's life, three months ago Obi-Wan went to hell. Now he is back, resurrected by a being that claims to be an angel. The Apocalypse is starting and Obi-Wan and Anakin will play major roles, but not all is what it seems. Heaven is hiding something.Good soldiers follow orders.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is not my best ever piece of writing, but I enjoyed writing it and I want to get back into the habit of posting things. So please enjoy the dubious entertainment of this fusion piece. I promise, it gets better in later chapters.
> 
> You do not need more than a passing familiarity with the Clone Wars TV show, just enough to know who the characters are. You do however need to have a decent understanding of Supernatural seasons 4 & 5 for this to make sense. Sorry. It doesn't follow the plot exactly, and things go sideways at the end, but more than a few bits of lore have been skimmed over.

Obi-Wan comes back from Hell with a handprint burned into his shoulder. Anakin stares at him for a long moment, bursts into laughter and asks if his brother has been groped by a demon. Obi-Wan is not amused.

 

Tahl had been a good friend of their father’s, and is a psychic to boot. She has an unnerving way of looking through a person into their souls despite the unfocused gaze of her green-and-gold eyes. She also has an unnerving habit of commenting on her past relationship with Qui-Gon and wondering if his sons were just as good.

When she tries to get a glimpse of whatever it was that had brought Obi-Wan back her eyes burn. Once she wakes up she jokes that it was a good thing she was already blind, because it was hard to make someone _more_ blind even if they did burn her eyeballs away. Obi-Wan and Anakin share a look and grin. Tahl is _awesome_.

 

Plo Koon is a great friend to have, even if he also has the same habit of adopting pathetic lifeforms that Qui-Gon had. He is also willing to go along with just about anything. He draws out the symbol Tahl had given Obi-Wan in the centre of the summoning circle and he doesn’t even tell Obi-Wan this is a terrible idea. Obi-Wan already knows that, but they are doing it anyway.

When the thing enters the shed and puts Plo on the floor without even blinking, Obi-Wan is furious. First Tahl and now Plo? The demon killing knife sinks into flesh easily enough but then the thing just stares at him with warm golden eyes and pulls it out without blinking.

“What are you?”

“I am an angel of the Lord.”

 

“Wait, an angel?” Anakin blinks at him.

“That is what I said, yes,” Obi-Wan answers with a long suffering sigh.

“An angel,” Anakin repeats. “Named _Cody_?”

“Apparently his actual name is unpronounceable by human tongues.” Obi-Wan answers with a shrug, “He seemed proud of picking a human name out.”

“No shit,” Anakin rolls his eyes, “Was he a jock? Cody is a jock’s name.”

“He was not a jock,” Obi-Wan rolls his eyes. “He seemed… pretty normal to be honest. Perhaps he was a little too fond of orange clothes, but otherwise normal.” Well, aside from that scar, the one that ran down the side of his face, curling around his left eye. Obi-Wan wonders if the demon killing knife hadn’t even made Cody blink what could have caused a scar like that?

“Sure, normal,” Anakin doesn’t sound like he believes Obi-Wan but that was alright.

 

“Why did you do this?” Obi-Wan asks the angel desperately.

“Is it so hard to believe that good things can happen?” Cody asks in return.

“Not to me,” Obi-Wan whispers, “I’m not… I’ve never been worthy. And now… I’m tainted, wrong. Broken.”

“No, you’re not,” Cody says and there is such surety in his eyes that Obi-Wan almost believes him. “You’re important Obi-Wan, so important. You’re special.”

“No,” Obi-Wan shakes his head again. “I was never the special one. Anakin is the special one.”

“Hmph,” Cody huffs looking supremely unimpressed. “Your brother colludes with demons. You should stop him, before Heaven decides to stop him for you.”

“Wait, _what?_ ”

 

The knockdown, drag out fight Obi-Wan and Anakin have over Komari is horrible and no one really wins. Anakin insists Komari is trustworthy, that she’s helping them. Obi-Wan might have been inclined to give her a chance, especially if she really did suffer at Dooku’s hands for helping them before he went to Hell, except for the fact that Anakin hid this. Anakin hid this from him and now he’s trying to justify it, saying that Obi-Wan hasn’t been right since he came back from Hell. The key part of that being that Obi-Wan came back from _Hell_ and of course he isn’t going to be over it in five minutes like Anakin expects. 

A year ago Anakin would have told Obi-Wan about Komari, like he had with Asajj. Obi-Wan doesn’t know what it meant that he hadn’t, but he worries about what else his brother might be hiding.

 

They drift along, trying to get to grips with the fact that the Apocalypse is happening, or will happen if they can’t stop Dooku from breaking the Seals. It’s all hands on deck, Obi-Wan and Anakin call in every favour they have stocked up, call every hunter they or their father had ever had past dealings with and still they can’t quite hold back the tide. Then Maul turns up again, because of course he does. The demon that killed their father, the demon Obi-Wan had thought he’d killed the day he made his demon deal, the one that had spent weeks in the Pit exacting revenge for the near-death. Not that he’d told Anakin the last part of that, because he wasn’t telling Anakin a lot of things about what happened in Hell.

 

Christopher ‘Cut’ Lawquane is an ordinary guy with a wife and two kids. Cut is also, apparently, an angel who Fell and made himself human because he didn’t like being an angel. Cody calls him a deserter and demands his life. Obi-Wan finds it interesting that Cut and Cody have the same face, as do the other two angels, Boil and Waxer, that Cody brought with him. He doesn’t have time to dwell on it then because he and Anakin are trying to protect Cut while keeping Komari from learning anything too dangerous (well Obi-Wan is at least) and not get caught by either Heaven or Hell. Eventually there is a showdown between Heaven, led by Cody, and Hell, led by Maul, and in the chaos Cut takes back his Grace and everything just kind of… ends.

Obi-Wan doesn’t ask then, because Cody doesn’t look like he is likely to answer questions today, but he remembers and he asks the next time he sees the angel.

 

“I told you we wear vessels, so as to not harm human eyes,” Cody says taking the question seriously, “Your friend was fortunate when she tried to see me to only lose her eyeballs.”

“She was lucky she was already blind,” Obi-Wan grouses because he’s sore about that but he knows Tahl, knows Cody warned her off but that she’s stubborn and reached anyway. It wasn’t, entirely, Cody’s fault.

“Regardless,” Cody dismisses the point, which is probably why Obi-Wan is still sore, because it wasn’t Cody’s fault but the angel doesn’t seem to acknowledge that it might be worth an apology anyway. “We do produce some vessels ourselves, basic ones, following the same template.” He gestures to his current body. “They are meant for basic work, short periods when we need to be on Earth and do not have the time to find dedicated vessels.”

“What do you mean find?” Obi-Wan asks which is how he learns about humans being used as vessels and the consent requirements. It’s creepy, and he is not ashamed to admit it. He is still curious though.

“You’re down here a lot, at the minute,” He says slowly, “And from the fights we’ve been in recently you’re doing significantly more than ‘basic work’, but you’re using a standard vessel?” To his surprise Cody flushes.

“It’s complicated,” he replies and then he is gone. As usual.

 

Anakin and Obi-Wan’s relationship continues to sour. Anakin spends more and more time with Komari and Obi-Wan hates it. He knows about the demon blood, knows what Anakin is doing but the more he begs Anakin to listen to him the more Anakin pulls away. It doesn’t help that Anakin knows Obi-Wan is hiding something, something about Hell, but Obi-Wan won’t tell him. He won’t tell anyone. 

Well no one but Cody. Cody already knows, after all, and the angel seems remarkably unconcerned about the knowledge. Obi-wan has no idea how an angel has become his confidante where it should be his brother, but Cody listens. Cody listens and he doesn’t judge, or if he does then it is not about this. It is not about the dark, black thing in Obi-Wan’s chest that is trying to get out all the time. A part of Obi-Wan whispers in his mind that it is only a matter of time before it breaks free. It is right.

 

Maul again. He just keeps coming back. Somehow. Obi-Wan feels sick at the knowledge.

He feels worse when Cody and a new angel called Fox ask him to use what he had learned in the Pit to get information out of Maul. He feels dirty and ashamed. He feels broken. He looks at Cody and wonders… did the angel care at all? It wasn’t as if Cody doesn’t know how Obi-Wan feels about what he had done and yet he is asking anyway. For a moment Cody looks uncomfortable, his eyes moving away from Obi-Wan and the scar standing stark against his skin. Then the moment is over and the demand repeated. Obi-Wan goes, leaving a spluttering Anakin behind.

In the end Anakin saves him from Maul but Obi-Wan wishes that he hadn’t. Wishes that Maul had just done as he threatened and killed him, dragging Obi-Wan’s soul back down to Hell to finish what he had started. Whatever Cody says… Obi-Wan isn’t special. That has always been Anakin and they both know it. Anakin will kill Dooku with his powers and Obi-Wan will… will lose his brother to demons, probably.

 

“You’sa not real, you’sa just characters,” Binks says staring at Cody who has just declared the bizarre and frankly terrifying man a prophet. Obi-Wan raises a hand to rub his temple. Seriously? This guy a _prophet_? He studies the lanky man, from his dreadlocks to his huge ears to the robe-and-onesie outfit.

“Are you sure we can’t shoot him?” Obi-Wan asks getting a glare from Cody.

“Give me two minutes alone with him and I’ll do more than shoot him,” Anakin grouses under his breath. But then there are more books and Dooku and Obi-Wan is forced to accept that Binks is probably not going anywhere. Great.

 

Xanatos is… yeah Obi-Wan isn’t going there. He’d heard Qui-Gon mention a Xan a few times but had dismissed it because his Dad hadn’t wanted to talk about it. Now he wishes he had pushed. The worst part, Obi-Wan thinks, as Anakin exclaims over their newly found brother, is that it is so patently obvious that Xan, like Anakin, was the recipient of all the love Qui-Gon had, if not more so. Xan might not have seen their father very often but Qui-Gon had showered him with everything that he had never given to Obi-Wan and yet… Xan _hates_ him. Despises the very mention of Qui-Gon and is far more likely to sing the praises of his step-father, who sounds like a dick of epic proportions. To Obi-Wan, who had adored their father even when ignored or outright told that he wasn’t good enough, it is like a blow to the chest and one he hadn’t seen coming.

He feels horrible but when they find out that Xan is not Xan, but a ghoul, he feels almost… relieved. It is easier to mourn a brother they have never known than to swallow down the bitterness as he watches Xan and Anakin bond over the terrible things their father had done while showering them with all the affection and love they could possibly want.

Jealousy doesn’t suit Obi-Wan. He pushes the thoughts out of his mind. Anakin is his brother and Obi-Wan loves him as much as he had loved his father even if Anakin has been pretty awful to be around recently.

 

Cody vanishes. Cody who Obi-Wan had come to trust, Cody who knows everything about him including how he feels about his brother’s downward spiral, just up and vanishes on them leaving them with nothing but an empty meat suit with a scar down its face. Obi-Wan wonders about it, strokes it idly and waits for the angel to come back. He wonders when Cody had become so important, when he had wormed his way in such that Obi-Wan now feels lost and adrift because Cody isn’t here.

Then Cody comes back. Except that Cody is different. He has changed.

Whatever it was he had tried to tell Obi-Wan before he was taken, he will not now say. The only response Obi-Wan can get from him is one that leaves the hunter cold.

“Good soldiers follow orders.”

 

Anakin loses the battle.

He breaks out of Plo’s panic room and by the time Obi-Wan catches up it is too late.

Dooku dies. The final Seal opens.

The Apocalypse begins. 


	2. Chapter 2

The Apocalypse is on and Cody is dead. Obi-Wan isn’t sure why the second feels so much worse than the first, but it does.

The Apocalypse is on and Fox is there demanding that Obi-Wan hand himself over to become Michael’s vessel. Behind Fox, Boil and Waxer look both worried and upset but then Obi-Wan understands enough to know that the two angels are Cody’s, not Fox’s. Or had been, until Cody rebelled and died for it.

Except apparently not because in the next moment, before Anakin dies under Fox’s power, Cody appears and sharply disarms both Boil and Waxer, kills the other, nameless, angel that Fox had brought as muscle and manages to threaten Fox into backing off. Cody takes them back to the hospital, back to Plo who is likely to need a respirator for the rest of his life, and then tells them his plan. He is going to find God. There is faith in his eyes and Obi-Wan doesn’t have the heart to break it, instead he wishes his friend well and watches as he leaves. Obi-Wan wishes that Cody would stay, because the Devil is free and the Apocalypse is on and Obi-Wan is apparently Michael’s vessel but he just… watches.

 

Mace calls, he and Shaak Ti and Ahsoka need back-up so Obi-Wan and Anakin set out. They fight War, as in the Horseman of the Apocalypse War, which is… interesting. Then Anakin leaves. He needs to find himself or something. In short order Obi-Wan is alone. It is not pleasant. Not when he is alone with his thoughts which have never been kind to him.

Until another angel appears.

He has the same face as the others, but his hair is shaved short and bleached blond.

“Call me Rex,” He says with amusement burning in his eyes, as if he was in on a joke that no one else was. Especially not Obi-Wan. “Cody asked me to keep an eye on you.”

Obi-Wan is not stupid, that is a lie, but he can’t exactly stop Rex from turning up either.

“Why did you agree?” Obi-Wan asks his angelic passenger who has refused to leave and just parked himself in the passenger seat of Obi-Wan’s car. “My understanding is that Cody isn’t exactly the most popular person in Heaven at the moment.”

“Well no,” Rex allows. “But I do owe him several dozen favours. Also, what can I say, I have a thing about not following stupid orders.”

“Really?” Obi-Wan pushes but Rex just continues to smirk.

 

Fox sends Obi-Wan to a future he doesn’t want to even think about and Anakin comes back. Anakin who is the Devil’s meat-suit and the fate of the world is resting on Obi-Wan and Anakin continuing to say ‘no’. It isn’t perfect but they are together again. It hurts, more than Obi-Wan was expecting, but oddly Rex’s presence seems to help. The angel and Anakin click the way Anakin never did with Cody and they spend more time than can be strictly healthy trolling and pranking one another. Anakin decides that Rex really needs to know how to shoot and from that day onwards Rex cannot be found without a pair of pistols that he apparently adores. Obi-Wan decides immediately not to ask and just gets out of the way when Rex gets that look on his face that says something is about to be shot.

Possibly he should ask, because those are definitely not normal bullets that Rex’s pistols fire – given that Obi-Wan personally witnesses Rex use them to take out another angel. But he isn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Not right now when they need all the help they can get.

 

There’s a cambion and a witch that gambles with time and Rex is just always there, smoothing over the rough patches. Then there’s the Trickster, again, except apparently he’s not a Trickster.

“Hello Gabriel,” Cody says flatly, blanking Rex completely and focusing on the angel in the ring of holy fire. The Trickster pulls a face, grimacing.

“Call me Echo,” He corrects, “It’s a _much_ cooler name. I mean ‘God is my strength’? _Really?_ ”

“Works for me,” Rex shrugs. “Seen Fives recently?” he asks and the Trick–… Gab–… Echo…. Whatever shrugs.

“Haven’t seen anyone recently,” he answers.

“That’s because everyone thinks you’re dead,” Cody glowers and then looks at Rex pointedly, “What are you even doing here?” He demands.

“Protecting your pets,” Rex points at Obi-Wan and Anakin. “I don’t understand your taste at all, big brother. I mean the ginger one’s cute but so _boring_. The blond one is more fun,” he pauses and if Obi-Wan hadn’t spent the last six weeks with the angel he might be insulted. “Actually, no, I _do_ understand your taste. Completely,” He smirks at Echo who stifles a laugh.

“I didn’t ask you to,” Cody glowers which basically answers that question, as if Obi-Wan hadn’t already known that.

“You’re welcome,” Rex replies. “So Echo, you gonna help or what?”

“Jump on the Anti-Apocalypse bandwagon? Hmm,” Echo pretends to think about it. “Eh, why not? Hacking the US government to troll them was getting boring anyway.”

“If you’re joining up you have to _behave_ ,” Cody warns.

“Must behave, got it sir!” Echo salutes and Obi-wan gets his first warning that, actually, Echo picked that name for a very good reason. And his cover as a Trickster might not be as odd as it actually sounds.

 

Echo does disappear temporarily but then turns up again a few days later looking like his brothers but wearing an unbuttoned shirt that shows off a beautifully sculpted chest marked with a handprint tattoo in deep blue. Obi-Wan wants to ask but also doesn’t.

“It’s easier to blend in when you look like everyone else,” Echo explains to Anakin who does ask, well at least about the vessel swap if not the tattoo. “At a distance, with my skills at hiding, I’ll just look like another poor idiot that’s followed after Cody into the unknown world of rebellion. Not, you know, an archangel that’s meant to be dead.”

“So… could you take Lucifer?” Obi-Wan asks because he has to, “I mean, if you’re an archangel,” Echo looks at him oddly and then glances at Rex who just shakes his head. Whatever they are saying to each other Obi-Wan doesn’t know but he wishes he did because he’s pretty sure he’s missed something here.

“This might seem stupid,” Echo says slowly, “But Lucifer… is not actually the problem here.”

“He’s not?” Obi-Wan says and Echo shakes his head.

“No,” he answers and then pauses, “But it’s moot point anyway. I’ve never beaten Lucifer in a fight in my life.”

“You came close once,” Rex offers and Echo snorts.

“He let me come close once,” he corrects. He looks sad about that and Obi-Wan decides not to ask again.

 

Rex and Echo, unsurprisingly, find Binks and the whole idea of a Supernatural convention hilarious and spend most of the time sitting back and heckling the entire thing from the audience. Obi-Wan is not surprised.

 

Plo calls, he’s found the Colt, in the hands of a demon called Wolffe. Cody goes to confirm it and then suddenly it’s a whirlwind of activity. It’s not until they’ve gathered the troops – in this case Shaak Ti and her adopted daughter Ahsoka who are the best huntresses in the US – and set of for Carthage that they realise that they’ve lost two of their three angels. Rex and Echo – after weeks of their constant presence – are marked absences.

Cody won’t say why they aren’t coming. He just gets a look on his face as if there are things he wants to say but isn’t sure he should. It’s not a good sign. Obi-Wan pulls him to one side when they stop for a short pit stop.

“Cody, if there’s a problem you need to tell us,” Obi-Wan tells the angel, “This is a risky enough plan as it is, without there being unknowns involved too.”

“I just…” Cody hesitates, “I don’t trust the information that this Wolffe has provided. I don’t know why he thinks Lucifer will be in Carthage when no one has seen Lucifer since he was released.”

“No one’s _seen_ Lucifer?” Obi-Wan blanches because that was important information right there.

“He’s around, everyone knows that, but it’s been demons and fallen angels leading the charge, not Lucifer himself,” Cody says and swallows heavily. “If it weren’t for Anakin’s dream, and for the presence of the Horsemen – whom only Lucifer can control – then I might question if he’s been released at all,” He looks sideways, eyes shifting, and Obi-Wan knows he’s lying.

“You’ve seen him, haven’t you?” Obi-Wan asks, “But you don’t want anyone to know you have,” He thinks, carefully, “Echo said that Lucifer isn’t the problem,” Cody visibly hesitates. “Cody…”

“I think Echo’s right,” Cody admits.

“But you agreed to this, you could have stayed with Echo and Rex,” Obi-Wan points out.

“Someone is acting in Lucifer’s name, regardless of what Lucifer himself is doing,” Cody points out, “ _Someone_ is in Carthage. We should know who.”

“Alright,” Obi-Wan agrees because Cody is right, if there’s someone out there pretending to be Lucifer, or just doing Lucifer’s dirty work while the Devil himself goes on vacation or whatever it is he’s doing, then they do need to know and to stop them.

 

In Carthage they meet Asajj again. Obi-Wan knew she was out of Hell, she’s the one who hurt Plo, but he wasn’t prepared for her to be here. Neither were any of the others.

Shaak Ti dies, hurt by Hell Hounds she blows a store sky high to take them out and give the rest of them a chance to escape. Ahsoka is heartbroken and Obi-Wan and Anakin are along with her. She is like a little sister to them, only seventeen and not ready to lose her mother. Not like that.

They find Lucifer; or rather they find the person pretending to be Lucifer. Obi-Wan is not surprised when they come face to face with another angel. He’s getting used to seeing variation upon variation of the same face. This one has a sharp goatee and an enochian sigil tattooed to his temple. He laughs when Anakin asks if he’s Lucifer.

“Call me Fives,” The angel replies, leaning on his shovel from where he’s been digging graves “I’m just the errand boy.”

“Why would an angel side with Lucifer?” Obi-Wan asks, remembering sharply that one of the first things Rex asked Echo was where Fives was.

“I’m not,” Fives shrugs, “Not really. Well.” He glances over at the waiting demons who are all ramrod straight and not moving in their dead meatsuits, “The demons make for good muscle.” He goes back to digging.

“So why are you doing this?” Anakin demands, all righteous fury.

“Because you don’t know what’s coming, you think you know Heaven’s corruption but you have no idea. None. I do,” Fives answers. “And I’ll stop it; anyway I have to, to spare my brothers. Even if it means destroying the world.”

“What are you talking about?” Obi-Wan asks and Fives answers with words that chill him to the core.

“Good soldiers follow orders.”

They shoot him, because he’s trying to end the world, but it doesn’t work. Cody gets them out before Fives loses patience.

 

“I was afraid of that,” Rex says blankly when he’s told about Fives. “That’s why I hoped Echo had heard from him recently.”

“The idiot,” Echo is nearly in tears, “The stupid, fucking idiot.”

“Why didn’t the Colt work?” Plo asks from where he is sat, an arm wrapped around Ahsoka’s shoulders as she sits in a blanket and mourns.

“It won’t work on archangels,” Rex answers for them.

“You knew that? You knew that and you didn’t tell us?” Anakin comes up bristling and for all that Rex and Anakin are something like best friends now that does not mean Anakin is more likely to forgive betrayal. Not when it cost Ahsoka her mother.

“I knew that,” Rex answers, “I didn’t tell you because I knew Lucifer wouldn’t be there. I expected one of his lackeys, a higher demon, maybe a fallen angel, and the Colt would have worked. I didn’t expect Fives.”

“You feared he was working for Lucifer, or at least to further the Apocalypse,” Obi-Wan pointed out, “And I would have thought, given he was performing a ritual to raise and bind _Death_ it wouldn’t be trusted to any lackey.”

“Well I didn’t know they were raising Death when you left, now _did_ I?” Rex shoots back angrily.

“How did you know Lucifer wouldn’t be there?” Ahsoka speaks up in a quiet voice and Rex looks over at her. “Cody said he didn’t expect Lucifer, because no one’s seen him, but he didn’t know. Not for sure,” Rex hesitates visibly and doesn’t answer.

“Of course it wasn’t going to be Lucifer,” Echo interrupts with an annoyed snort, “I told you. Lucifer isn’t the problem.”

“No, apparently Fives is.” Anakin grouses. “Who’s an archangel. What kind of archangel is called Fives anyway?” Echo’s eyes narrow at Anakin then in a dark glare.

“That’s my _twin_ you’re talking about you know,” He says and Obi-Wan winces. Ouch. At least that explains why Rex expected Echo to know where Fives was.

“This argument isn’t getting anywhere,” Cody speaks up quietly from the side where he’s been hiding. “What is done is done. We can’t save Shaak Ti now. At least we know who we’re fighting against.”

“Can you answer one last question for me, Cody?” Obi-Wan asks quietly and Cody nods. “How many archangels are there? And, on that train of thought, where do they all stand?” Cody hesitates visibly and glances over at Echo and Rex. Echo nods once, sharply and Cody sighs.

“There are seven,” he answers. “Michael, Lucifer, Remiel, Raguel, Raphael, Gabriel and Sariel,” he nods at Echo. “You know the twins, Gabriel and Sariel. Or Echo and Fives. You’ve met Raguel, that’s Fox. Raphael, who’s going by Ponds these days, you’ve also met,” he adds and Obi-Wan nods because he remembers their little adventure after Anakin left but before Rex turned up. “Remiel is missing, presumed dead. Michael and Lucifer are… well,” he doesn’t finish, just falls silent.

“So,” Anakin summarises, “Fox, Ponds and Michael on Heaven’s side. Lucifer and Fives on Hell’s. Echo’s with us which leaves one no-show,” Echo huffs. “Okay fine, Lucifer isn’t the problem,” Anakin corrects. “Heaven’s still got the numbers.”

“Heaven always had the numbers,” Cody says and his expression is sad and heartbroken.


	3. Chapter 3

They carry on, the best they can. There are more hunts, more attempts at slowing the Apocalypse down, but just because it is Fives rather than Lucifer moving this forward does not mean that they are any more prepared to fight an archangel. Echo admits, reluctantly, that he could probably beat his brother in a fight, but then refuses point blank to do it. This is his twin and they might not have seen one another in millennia but that does not change. Obi-Wan doesn’t have the heart to argue, not when he couldn’t kill his own brother despite everything.

Obi-Wan feels more adrift than ever but, he thinks, that perhaps there is still some hope. They are still going forward, still fighting and their little team is not one to give up. Ahsoka joins them full time and the car is a squeeze even on the occasions when Cody is elsewhere, still looking for God. It’s nice though, to be surrounded by family despite the end of the world. And Rex and Echo are, somehow, family. So is Cody, though Obi-Wan can’t find the words to say it. They stick in his throat every time he sees the angel, words that ask him to stay even though Obi-Wan knows that his search of God is one of the few pieces of faith that Cody still has.

Cody is fading, and they all know it. Rex apparently isn’t high enough on Heaven’s radar for them to realise he’s helping the two vessels and Echo has been presumed dead for so long that neither of them have been cut off the way Cody has. Cody openly defied, openly rebelled and now he’s paying the price. Obi-Wan’s heart aches for him and he stops lying to himself and pretending that it is only friendship that he feels. He won’t breathe a word to Cody, but he’ll sit closer to the angel when he’s there, touch him and smile and make sure that Cody knows, even if God isn’t listening, then Obi-Wan is.

He should have known better than to think he was allowed to love, that he was allowed to have something nice.

 

Cut reappears and he’s nothing like the kind and generous farmer that they had tried to rescue from Heaven and Hell. Cody had confessed months ago to handing Cut over to Heaven, and to letting Anakin out of the panic room. Obi-Wan forgave him the moment he confessed, because he was well aware that Heaven had done _something_ to him, just before the final seal broke, and Cody had broken away eventually. Cut, however, apparently hasn’t forgiven Cody. He’s also apparently now completely nuts and wants to ensure Obi-Wan and Anakin are never born and thus end the Apocalypse that way.

Echo sends them back, with a sigh, and tells them to call when they need a lift home.

Cody does not react well to the time travel, collapsing the moment they arrive. Rex panics, catching his brother and then looks at them.

“I can’t,” He breathes and Obi-Wan understands instantly. As if he wasn’t also panicking.

“Take him back home, then you can join us again,” Obi-Wan says and Rex nods.

“I’ll be right back,” he says and vanishes, taking Cody with him. A moment passes and Rex doesn’t appear again. An hour passes and nothing.

“Something went wrong,” Anakin deduces and Obi-Wan swallows down the lump in his throat and tells himself that Cody will be fine, that Rex will protect him.

“We have a job to do,” he says and Anakin nods, reluctantly.

 

Anakin might have had many, many issues with their father but he has always adored their mother even if he had only been six months old when she died. In fact Obi-Wan might have called it an obsession, almost as bad as their father’s obsession with finding her killer. Watching Anakin stumble over his words trying to talk to Shmi without embarrassing himself, and failing miserably, Obi-Wan wishes desperately he could have given his brother his own memories of the gentle, beautiful woman that he remembers. It’s easier, he decides, to focus on Shmi and Anakin than on Qui-Gon.

Not that Qui-Gon allows them to ignore him. Right now the man is just a gentle veterinarian, a long way from the hard hunter that he will become, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t still have a strong soul and a stubborn personality. Obi-Wan spends the entire time worrying about him and worrying about the impression he must be making. Or at least he does, until there’s no time to worry because Cut is there and he’s brought along two friends, Boil and Waxer, who don’t know Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and Anakin yet. Don’t have any reason to look guilty as they do their best to wipe out the family.

And then everything comes to a halt because Qui-Gon, who had been thrown out of the house early into the fight, returns but he isn’t Qui-Gon anymore.

He’s Michael.

“Free will is an illusion,” Michael says and stares at Obi-Wan with his father’s eyes. “Good angels, good soldiers, follow orders Obi-Wan. The Apocalypse was lain down at the birth of creation itself and everything that has come to pass since has been one more step on the long, winding path to this moment,” he pauses then and stares hard. It’s unsettling. It reminds Obi-Wan of Cody and the way he sometimes looks at Obi-Wan as if he can’t understand the human.

“You don’t believe that good things can happen,” Michael says and Obi-Wan’s heart freezes in his chest. “You don’t believe that the Apocalypse can _be_ a good thing. I understand. I know it seems harsh, but it’s not Obi-Wan. Once it is done with, once my brother is cast down, then we will bring about paradise. It will be peace and light and joy,” he reaches up with a hand and cradles Obi-Wan’s cheek, leaning in and for a second Obi-Wan thinks the archangel is going to kiss him and can’t decide if that’s creepy or not. Instead Michael only breathes, their foreheads pressed together.

“Imagine it Obi-Wan. No more pain, no more suffering. No more guilt that pulls you down, trying to drown you in darkness and depression. Just peace,” Michael huffs quietly. “ _Love._ ”

Around Qui-Gon’s left eye there is something strange, something that seems to pulse at the skin, as if it was coming from the angel inside and trying to force its way out. Obi-Wan knows what it is.

“I will look after you Obi-Wan,” Michael says but it’s not Michael, it’s his father, it's Qui-Gon, and it’s Cody too because Cody is Michael and Obi-Wan’s heart is breaking. “I will protect you. I will show you all the good in the world. I will show you that you are worth it, that you deserve good things.”

Obi-Wan sobs because this… it’s too much.

This is Cody and Michael and Qui-Gon and it’s all _wrong, wrong, wrong._

The father who never thought he was good enough. The angel he’s come to love more than anything. The archangel that wants to burn the world.

“ _No, no, no,_ ” Obi-Wan whispers and Michael hushes him.

“I know it’s hard,” he whispers. “I’ll give you time to think about it. I’ll see you soon Obi-Wan,” he says and then Obi-Wan blinks and he’s back in their motel room. Rex is there hovering over Anakin and Ahsoka and looking furious. Echo is just blinking in surprise. Cody is passed out on the bed, oblivious. Obi-Wan looks at the two angels and then falls to his knees.

“When were you going to tell me?” he begs.

“Tell you what?” Rex asks warily.

“He’s Michael.”

 

Anakin and Ahsoka are righteously furious on his behalf. They flank him, keeping close as they face down the two angels who at least have the decency to look guilty.

“He asked us not to say anything,” Rex doesn’t meet their gaze, instead stares at his brother passed out on the bed. “We’ve all got secrets, what was it to us that he uses another name?”

“I don’t think it’s that he didn’t want you to know,” Echo says. “Although, no he obviously didn’t want you to know. I think it’s more…” he hesitated. “He’s hiding. Like I was. Like I still am, sort of. The host doesn’t know to connect Echo to Gabriel and I don’t want them to. I don’t think the host knows that Cody is Michael. I can’t explain why they’d dare to cut him off it they did know.”

“They do kind of need him if they want this Apocalypse plan to go ahead,” Rex agrees.

“So he lied to us instead,” Anakin growls, “Right from the start. He must have known everything, _everything_ , and he just pretended he didn’t. Pretended he was just another one of the rank and file.”

“I can’t comment on what he was thinking when he first met you,” Rex says. “I wasn’t there,” he glances at Echo who shakes his head, he doesn’t know either. “But I don’t think you quite get it. How important it is that he _is_ here. He’s Michael. The _Firstborn_. He’s… He’s the good son and he just told Heaven and God’s plan and everything to go to Hell. For the sake of two dumb humans,” he looks at Obi-Wan pointedly and Obi-Wan knows that he is saying ‘two’ but really he means ‘one’.

“I asked him once, why he uses one of the standard vessels instead of his own, given how much time he was spending on Earth,” Obi-Wan says numbly. “He told me it was complicated. Was he trying to get me to say yes even then?”

“I don’t know,” Rex answers. “I wasn’t there, remember?” he repeats and beside them Ahsoka tenses. Obi-Wan looks at her as she stands, eyes blazing.

“Why weren’t you there Rex?” she asks and Rex pauses, hesitating again. “Where, exactly, were you when the whole seals thing was going down? I know you pretty well, or I like to think I do, if you’d been able to you’d have been right there cajoling Cody into breaking the rules sooner. You have a thing about stupid orders, right?”

“What’s your point?” Rex asks quietly.

“You didn’t turn up until after the Cage was open,” Ahsoka says flatly. “From what Obi-Wan says Cody wasn’t impressed by you being with them at first, despite you claiming to be there on his orders to protect Obi-Wan and Anakin. You _knew_ Lucifer wouldn’t be in Carthage and you _knew_ to be worried about Fives having jumped on the Apocalypse bandwagon on the wrong side where his own _twin_ didn’t know. You also somehow aren’t cut off from Heaven and don’t give me the crap about not being high enough on the food chain to warrant it. If they’ve cut _Michael_ off they’d cut you off. Echo gets a free pass because he’s dead. So why do you?”

“Still not seeing your point,” Rex is stiff with insult, but he does see the point. So does Obi-Wan. So does Anakin.

“You’re Lucifer,” Anakin is the first one to say the words. “You’re fucking _Lucifer?_ ” he stands again, looming with all his impressive height, eyes flashing with fury. “I thought you were my friend. Have you been pretending this whole time, just to get me to trust you?”

“I’m not what you think I am,” Rex answers, but he isn’t denying it. He isn’t denying that he’s Lucifer.

Fuck. Cody is Michael and Rex is Lucifer. Obi-Wan doesn’t know what to do with that.

“I’m not what anyone thinks I am,” Rex adds and he is furious, Obi-Wan can see it. “I didn’t ask for this! I didn’t _want_ to be branded as the greatest bad guy that has ever existed! I was a _good son_ until I asked one too many fucking questions and I got kicked out of my own home. _Yes_ , okay, fine. I’m fucking _Lucifer_. Except I’m _not_. I’m Rex,” his voice cracks and he looks away, anger turned to grief in a heartbeat. “I like Rex better. Everyone likes Rex better.”

There’s nothing Obi-Wan can say to that, nothing any of them can say. So he doesn’t say anything. He turns and walks out of the motel room door and pretends that his heart hasn’t just been broken to pieces.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be delayed, because I'll be on a plane, but I'll post it as soon as I'm not jet-lagged and have decent internet connection. Probably Thursday or Friday.
> 
>  **Trigger warning** for self-harm, general depression and Famine being, you know, Famine. Not particularly graphic, but not pleasant either. Read with caution.

“You loved him, didn’t you?” Ahsoka asks quietly, her voice full of sympathy. They are back at Plo’s, back to lick their wounds and try to wrap their heads around the fact that two of the angels they had trusted were, apparently, the two angels who were meant to be bringing about this Apocalypse.

On the one hand it didn’t look like Michael and Lucifer were particularly thrilled with the idea of fighting to the death. On the other that didn’t change the fact that the Apocalypse was still going on and neither of them had done anything about it.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan breathes the confession, feeling it escape from his shattered heart. He has been sitting on Plo’s front step for hours, blank and empty and not knowing where he was going next. Not sure if he has the energy to go anywhere even if he knew where it was he was going.

He thinks about the almost kiss with Michael in the past, while he wore Obi-Wan’s father. He thinks about Cody and how the angel smiled so shyly when Obi-Wan sat close to him, touched him. He thinks about how Cody had looked at him, understood him and never judging. Cody knows him inside out, knows everything that he is and was and wishes to be. He knows the crippling self-hatred and guilt and depression that Obi-Wan has been fighting for too long. Long, long before Hell. Since before Qui-Gon had stood and denounced him in front of three dozen hunters, just because he wanted to go to college.

Bitterness wells up in his chest.

Obi-Wan had been denounced for wanting to go to college. Anakin and Xanatos had both been given college funds and sent on their way with a smile and a demand to stay in touch.

“Want to talk about it?” Ahsoka asks and for a second Obi-Wan forgets that they were talking about Cody and thinks she means his issues with his father. Then, like a blade to the heart, he remembers and he lets out a choked off sob, swallowing it down as best he can. He shakes his head. Ahsoka doesn’t say anything, fiddling instead with the ends of her braids.

“Just…” Obi-Wan finds himself saying before he can think about it. “What is it about me that is so unlovable?” he asks and feels Ahsoka inhale sharply beside him. “I’ve tried, so hard. I’ve given everything. To Dad, to Anakin, to…” he breaks off. “And every time I think maybe, _maybe_ …” he stops.

“Dad died to save my life,” he tells Ahsoka, “But his last words… he begged me to take care of Anakin, to not let him become a monster. He begged me not to kill my own little brother as if he really, truly believed that I wouldn’t do anything to protect him. He didn’t say anything to _me_.

“And Anakin… He got everything I ever wanted. Dad loved him more than anything. He went to college, he found the woman of his dreams, he…” Obi-Wan swallowed again. “And I know he’s had it hard, God I know because I’ve been there for most of it. I was there when Padme died, I was there when…” no there was no point in going over everything that had happened. It wasn’t as if Ahsoka didn’t know anyway. “I love him, so much, he’s my little brother. Hell, I sold my _soul_ for him and he just… sometimes I thinks he cares about me but other times it’s like there’s nothing. Like he resents me, but I don’t know why.”

“Everyone we meet prefers Anakin. He’s loud and charming and handsome and I’m quiet and nerdy and… not. Even you get on better with Anakin than with me and I know, I know you care about me, I do,” he says before Ahsoka can open her mouth to protest. “But don’t try and tell me that you and he aren’t like twins born to different mothers,” he sighs and Ahsoka looks guilty, but there’s nothing to be guilty about. “After Hell… after Hell I resigned myself to it. What I did there… I deserved it, I deserved the punishment. I definitely didn’t deserve to be rescued,” tears sting at his eyes. “But Cody… Cody didn’t even blink. He didn’t care, he didn’t judge. He knew everything I’d done and he still thought I was worth saving.

“When I found out it was on orders that it was because Heaven needed me to be their weapon I figured… it was okay because he might have been ordered to do it, but he thought I was worth it anyway. He cared, even if the rest of Heaven didn’t,” Obi-Wan chokes out. “Except, apparently, he doesn’t. I’m just his fucking _vessel_.”

He buries his head in his hands and weeps, because he can’t do anything else.

“I know I’m not worthy, but I wish the world would just stop giving me fucking hope to brutally rip it away a few minutes later.”

“Obi-Wan,” Ahsoka is crying too and she’s hugging him and Obi-Wan can’t do anything but sit and sob out all the pain. When he’s done he doesn’t feel any better, he just feels exhausted and empty.

 

Time passes and none of the angels make an appearance.

Ahsoka doesn’t mention Obi-Wan’s break down and Obi-Wan pretends it never happened. Instead they search for a case, cajole Anakin into coming with them, and set out. It’s Valentine’s and Anakin is at his best on what he calls ‘lonely drifter Christmas’ and to look at him, flirting his way through the restaurant you wouldn’t think that once he’d been engaged. Let alone that he had been a couple of months from being a father.

Padme’s loss had nearly killed Anakin. Obi-Wan feels guilty even thinking about it, given how he feels right now. He’s falling apart because of an angel he’s known less than a year who was, at best, a friend that he developed an inappropriate crush over. It’s not the same as the love of his life and their children. Cody is not Padme.

He turns his eyes away and focuses on the case. He knows Ahsoka is staring at him, but he ignores her. Two people had died, a new couple, after eating each other alive during sex. Lovely.

When they find the enochian sigil on the victims hearts they have a short intense discussion-slash-argument, Obi-Wan is certain if given enough time he can work out what the sigil means, especially if he can call Plo. Anakin and Ahsoka argue that they don’t _have_ the time; they don’t know that these will be the only victims. Eventually Obi-Wan concedes. And by concedes Obi-Wan means he is held back by Anakin while Ahsoka places the call. Echo appears in moments, a heart shaped lollipop in his hand.

“Hi,” he grins brightly, eyes alight as he looks from Obi-Wan’s furious expression, to Anakin’s irritated one to Ahsoka’s stern. His shoulders sag. “I’m getting the vibe that you’re still upset about the whole Cody and Rex thing,” he admits.

“A little,” Obi-Wan growls.

“Look. I’m sorry,” Echo says quietly, “At first I thought it was a bit of a joke, but then I realised they were really serious about the whole keeping it quiet thing so I tried to talk them into telling you at least. I mean, Cody totally blew my cover the second he laid eyes on me, but I didn’t complain did I? And you guys haven’t spilled that intel to anyone, right? They uh… make a scary team when they agree on something though,” Echo says wide eyed and guilty. “They may have blackmailed me into keeping my mouth shut.”

“Echo, we don’t care,” Anakin growls. “We’ve got bigger fish to fry. Look at this,” he said and pointed at the two bodies. Echo looks and whistles.

“Wow, someone had a bad night. Or a really, really kinky one,” he tilts his head to one side. “Did they eat each other...?” he asks.

“Mid coitus, yes,” Ahsoka says grimly. “We found this mark on their hearts,” she shows Echo the heart and Echo blinks.

“Well that’s… that’s a cupid mark,” he says and then has to explain it to them.

Cupids. Of course there are cupids.

Obi-Wan wishes he was surprised at this stage that apparently their parents were shot by cupids to make them fall in love. He thinks Anakin wants to ask about Padme but doesn’t dare because he doesn’t want to know the answer. Obi-Wan feels the same way. Or maybe not because he also feels empty and hollow. Like something is eating him from inside.

He’s so distracted by the emptiness that he doesn’t notice the warning signs.

Anakin is getting more and more jittery, more and more angry. There is violence in his eyes and bloodlust, for one particular kind of blood. Ahsoka gets quieter and quieter, she presses her nails into her palms, she bangs her body against walls and doors. She picks out a knife and runs it against her own skin, desperate to feel a physical pain to drown out the emotional. Echo gets louder, more gregarious, he wolfs down sweets by the dozen but even Obi-Wan can see the need for sugar masks something else much older.

Famine takes them all. All of them except Obi-Wan and he is not strong enough.

Famine tells him this is because he is empty, because he craves oblivion more than anything. Obi-Wan thinks, briefly, that he’s right. That oblivion would be nice. Then he remembers he might not be worthy but he has a job to do.

He’ll embrace oblivion when the Apocalypse is done with.

 

Battered and bruised and bleeding from invisible wounds they return to Plo’s. Anakin needs to detox again and Ahsoka needs… Obi-Wan isn’t certain what she needs. Echo had silently healed all her self-inflicted wounds before he left for who-knew-where, but there is a look in her eyes that he doesn’t like.

They arrive at Plo’s however to a surprise.

Shaak Ti, back from the dead.

Ahsoka breaks down and cries the moment she sees her mother.

The next few days are awful. Obi-Wan hadn’t even known Shaak Ti and Plo had been so close, or maybe it was just because she knew Ahsoka would turn up here sooner or later. It doesn’t really matter in the end because the dead return to their graves, with a little persuasion. Before she goes Shaak Ti passes a message on from Death and, indirectly, from Fives.

_Heaven isn’t the puppet master. Good soldiers follow orders._

None of them know what to make of that. So they don’t make anything of it. At least not right now, they have bigger problems to deal with.

Ahsoka seems a little better, having a better parting from her mother, but she’s struggling and Anakin might be clean again but the addiction is still there and Obi-Wan… the less said about Obi-Wan the better.

They carry on. They have to.

 

“He just doesn’t think it’s his problem,” the angel they’ve been told is called Boba says spreading his hands wide with a quiet smirk. It hammers home the message that Obi-Wan had suspected from the beginning. God doesn’t care. God is not going to help.

He closes his eyes and when he opens them he sees Cody’s panicked expression.

Apparently Cody had felt it the moment he and Anakin and Ahsoka had died and had come looking for them despite the fact that he hadn’t been welcome for a while. Rex and Echo followed when they realised where Cody was going, to do what Obi-Wan wasn’t entirely clear on, maybe stop Cody before he reached them? They had arrived to find all three of them dead and had proceeded to try and reach them in Heaven, without actually going to Heaven, to try and resurrect them before Fox or Ponds had caught them.

Boba, supposedly the one angel who still spoke to God, had injected himself into the proceedings, (because Cody might have asked, once, but wouldn’t now) to take control and to tell the two brothers what they should have already realised.

“Knew it,” Rex scoffs when they tell the angels what went down, but his eyes are suspiciously red. Echo isn’t much better, sitting and staring at his hands with an expression that says he hates this even if he was expecting it.

Cody looks grey.

The good son, Obi-Wan remembers. Michael is the good son. He rebelled against Heaven, because he believed that they were wrong about the Apocalypse – or maybe to get closer to Obi-Wan he wasn’t sure – but he had kept his faith in God. He had scoured the Earth for a sign, any sign. Now he was being told that God didn’t give a damn.

Obi-Wan had been starting to think that it was impossible to break an angel, let alone an archangel.

“I believed in you,” Cody whispers, tears in his eyes. He touches the scar and then, between one blink and the next he is gone.

“Someone should follow him,” Echo says but Rex catches his arm and shakes his head.

“Don’t,” he murmurs. “He needs space.”


	5. Chapter 5

Rex and Echo don’t leave. Obi-Wan doesn’t remember any of them inviting the two angels to stay but then, he doesn’t think anyone asked them to leave either.

They do, eventually, sit down and talk about the Apocalypse thing though.

“What happened back then… its ancient history,” Rex tells them. “Yes, I did things I’m not proud of, and yes, I think everyone over reacted and putting me in the Cage was kind of unfair. But it’s still ancient history. I’ve never wanted to destroy the world; I’ve never wanted to kill Cody.”

“So, can’t you just call it off?” Anakin demands.

“Not that simple,” Rex shakes his head. “You may have noticed, but the Apocalypse? Is kinda like an avalanche. Once it’s started, stopping it is really damn difficult. Even without the final fight everything that leads up to it could destroy half the planet.”

“So, what about Fives then? He’s up to something,” Obi-Wan said and Rex looked at him. “We got a message from him, via Death.”

“You met Death?” Rex seems impressed and Obi-Wan shakes his head and explains about the dead rising, and the message. The two angels shared a look.

“It’s something we’ve considered,” Rex eventually relents. “Because by this stage it should be real damn obvious that Michael isn’t where he’s supposed to be. _Someone_ should have realised that Cody is Michael by now. The scar _alone_ should tell them that,” and it still doesn’t make sense that they would cut Cody off, knowing he is Michael, when they need him for the Apocalypse. There’s no answer that they can think of and it’s frustrating.

“What’s it from anyway?” Anakin asks and Rex looks at him.

“Me,” he answers and then pointedly changes the subject back. “The point is, Fox and Ponds aren’t stupid. They _should_ know something is up. They also wouldn’t willingly take orders from anyone except Michael or God. Thus something very suspect is going on.”

“What’s with this, ‘good soldiers follow orders’ thing anyway?” Ahsoka asks and Rex shakes his head.

“That’s new to me. Echo?” he asks and Echo shakes his head as well.

“I’ve heard it, once or twice, before I left, but I have no idea what it means,” he says. “But Fives is… our brothers have always been the most important thing to Fives. If he says he’d do anything for them, he isn’t joking. If he learned something, if he found out what was going on… Well taking Rex’s place in the Apocalypse isn’t something I’d expect him to do, but it doesn’t surprise me that he has.”

“So how do we stop him? And how do we find out who is really pulling the strings, draw them out and then get rid of them?” Anakin asks.

“Fuck if I know,” Rex huffs.

“I know Fives,” Echo says confidently. “I can talk him out of this, but not until we have a way of ending the threat to our brothers. If they’re safe, he’ll stop.”

“If they’re not, he’ll burn the planet,” Anakin says grimly. “Alright then. I guess we need to find out who the bad guy is then.”

 

It isn’t that easy, of course it isn’t.

No one knows where Cody is, not even Rex, and they’ve got squat on whatever might be able to control angels, let alone archangels, against their will. They keep hunting, because it’s not as if they’re short of things to hunt and people to save and it’s not like they have anything other ideas.

Everything is strained. The car is full but no one is talking to one another.

Stumbling across the Whore of Babylon is, in some respects one of the better things that could happen. Rex gets a kick out of the fact that, now he’s not pretending to be anyone else, he can scare the living daylights out of the Whore. There are some perks, he confesses, to everyone thinking he’s missing. Anakin laughs, which breaks that tension, and then Ahsoka and Echo start conspiring ways to teach the townspeople a few pointed lessons and everything is okay again. Well everyone but Obi-Wan who watches and then walks away into the quiet night.

He finds Cody sat outside a liquor store with a stare that seems focused on something on the other side of the galaxy, it was so far away. Heart aching Obi-Wan sits next to his angel, ignoring the smell of alcohol and waits.

“I tried to walk away,” Cody says after a long minute. “I couldn’t.”

“I’m not surprised, how much have you drunk?” Obi-Wan asks aiming for levity and hitting worried concern. Damn it. He didn’t want to care, he wanted to be angry but it’s hard right now because Cody is hurting so badly and Obi-Wan knows how that feels. He knows what it’s like to look to your father and have him turn his back.

“Five or six,” Cody muses.

“Bottles?” Obi-Wan asks, surprised because Cody is still an angel, so far at least. Five or six bottles shouldn’t be enough to get him this drunk.

“Stores,” Cody corrects and Obi-Wan laughs in spite of himself.

“Well, you don’t do anything half way, I’ll give you that,” he says and takes the current bottle off Cody and takes a swig. They sit in silence for several long minutes, sharing the bottle between them.

“I didn’t understand,” Cody whispers and Obi-Wan knows it’s a confession. He sits silently, not sure if he wants to hear it or not. “Back then. I didn’t understand. But you frightened me. I offered you what I thought you wanted, what I thought everyone wanted, and you looked back at me as if I’d just broken the world.”

“And you didn’t think that there might be a reason for that?” Obi-Wan asks and Cody shook his head, eyes red with unfallen tears.

“No, not at first,” he confesses. “I just thought… You’re my vessel, so of course I had to be the one to go and get you from Hell. It was my duty. How could I ask so much of you and not give in return? I didn’t tell you my name then because I wasn’t really supposed to be there, I wasn’t supposed to be part of the rescue mission and I didn’t want Fox or Ponds to know. I didn’t expect… I didn’t think for a second…” he closes his eyes, bows his head and it looks like he’s praying but Obi-Wan knows he’s not. Prayer is a broken promise, now. “We were meant to be brothers-in-arms, not friends. Not…” he stops himself and Obi-Wan feels his heart skip a beat. “I wasn’t supposed to fail.”

“How did you fail?” Obi-Wan asks quietly. “Okay the lying thing, that was bad, but. Failure isn’t the description I’d use.”

“I failed because I turned my back on Heaven,” Cody answers. “I abandoned my post, my duties and responsibilities. I tried to subvert the Will of God and was smote by my own brother for it. I… I Fell. Now… now he won’t even tell me in person, he has to pass messages along as if, if he comes near me he’ll…” Cody’s voice cracks and Obi-Wan can’t stand it. He wraps his arm around Cody’s shoulder. “I only ever wanted to be a good son, a good soldier and commander. What did I do to deserve this?” he asks and it sounds so much like Obi-Wan’s questions about his own father that he can’t help but answer.

“Nothing,” Obi-Wan tells him. “You did nothing to deserve being abandoned. Just like I didn’t do anything to deserve being disowned by my own father in front of everyone I liked and respected,” he swallows around the lump in his throat. “Fathers… aren’t perfect. Not even God. They’re as susceptible to their own faults as anyone else, it’s just when fathers make mistakes it is the children that suffer for it,” he stops so he can take hold of the bottle again, set it aside and replace it with his own hands, twining their fingers together.

“You didn’t fail Cody,” he tells the angel. “ _Michael_ , you didn’t fail. You stood up to something you knew was wrong and okay, maybe Rex didn’t turn out quite as dickish as everyone was expecting, because who knew that a few millennia in prison would grant him perspective? But that doesn’t change the fact that releasing Rex started the Apocalypse and that was _wrong_. That was what you stood against and you were right to do so.”

“Maybe it was right, but it was also pointless,” Cody murmurs. “The two key players in this whole charade are refusing to have any part of it and yet it still keeps going. How are we meant to stop it?”

“We’ll figure it out Michael, we will,” Obi-Wan promises and Cody winces.

“I’m with Rex. I like Cody better than Michael,” he whispers. “Cody… Cody isn’t perfect, but he’s a better man than Michael ever was. At least, he’s trying to be.”

“I like Cody better than Michael too,” Obi-Wan tells him and it earns a ghost of a smile at least. Cody looks up at him at last, his hands twisting in Obi-Wan’s hold.

“I’m falling, fast. I doubt I could change vessel now if I wanted to. I’ll… I’ll never ask,” Cody whispers the promise and Obi-Wan smiles at him.

“It’s okay,” he says. “I fell a while ago, it’ll be nice to have company down here,” he says and Cody’s brow furrows, he’s not as good as his brothers with analogy but that’s fine, because Obi-Wan loves him anyway. He leans in and kisses his angel like he’s wanted to for months. Maybe even since the day they met. Cody stiffens for a moment and then kisses him back, desperate and needy. They kiss until they have no breath left and until Cody forgets that he doesn’t need to breathe. Then they keep on kissing. Obi-Wan purposefully keeps it there, because Cody is drunk and might not even understand the concept of sex, given the kinds of things that go over his head, but it’s okay. It’s more than okay, it’s wonderful.

They’re sat making out in front of a liquor store in a town that is under siege from the Whore of Babylon and the world is ending but right now everything is wonderful.

The sound of raucous cheers, a wolf whistle and fireworks going off finally distract them from each other. They turn to find their family stood watching, with looks of delight and exasperation on their faces. Rex was the source of the whistle; Echo the source of the fireworks.

“It’s about damn time,” Rex informs them shortly and even Anakin is grinning brightly. “Now we’ve got a fucking Whore to kill, so get off your asses and save the making out until later.”

They hit a snag when they need a servant of God. Most of them naturally turn to Cody who raises an eyebrow at them and reminds them all where he’s been for the last several days.

“I guess it’ll have to be the pastor,” Obi-Wan sighs. “And I guess I’ll be the one breaking the news he’s going to have to kill his own daughter.”

“Sorry Obi-Wan,” Anakin ducks his head. “But you’re much better at this stuff than us.”

“Yeah, we’re all the loud and unsympathetic types,” Ahsoka says which is patently untrue because Obi-Wan knows the two of them can be incredibly gentle and sympathetic if they need to be. Of course they just think if Obi-Wan is there to do it they don’t need to be.

The plan more or less goes off without a hitch. Well. They kill the Whore at least.

Except its Obi-Wan who does it and everyone stares at him afterwards as if they’ve never seen him before. Well, all of them except Cody who only smiles a broken, sad smile.


	6. Chapter 6

“I don’t know why any of you are surprised,” Cody says later once they reconvene somewhere quieter to discuss the new development. “Obi-Wan is pure of heart, he’s good and loyal and kind. He might not believe but he does the Lord’s work and he does it, not out of any selfish desires, but out of a genuine wish to help people, to save them,” he pauses. “It probably helps that he’s _also_ the Righteous Man and the True Vessel of an Archangel.”

“But surely the belief thing is important, you know, to be a servant of God?” Anakin asks and Cody shakes his head.

“No,” he answers easily. “Because sometimes, especially when it comes to self-worth, you need to see that others have faith in _you_ before you can have faith in yourself,” he meets Obi-Wan’s eyes then and Obi-Wan can see every night they spent under the stars, just talking about nothing, about everything. Obi-Wan nods. He understands, he’s not sure he believes, but he understands what Cody is trying to say. It wasn’t a lie. Cody hid his name, and how much he knew, but what he had given of himself… that was never a lie.

“So why couldn’t you do it?” Rex asks looking at his brother in confusion. “I mean, you and Obi-Wan are cut from the same cloth. Most of what you just said about Obi-Wan also applies to you.”

“Some of it is,” Cody admits. “But a lot isn’t. Not anymore,” he doesn’t elaborate, not for a long minute but they all wait on tenterhooks anyway. “I conspired with other angels to start the Apocalypse before it was time out of Pride. I lied, about myself about what I knew, out of Fear and Jealousy. I broke the laws of Heaven…” he shakes his head. “I’ve done a lot of things. There’s a reason I’m Falling Rex, and it’s not just because Fox and Ponds are dicks on a power trip.”

“Alright,” Ahsoka cuts across them. “So question answered nothing to worry about. Let’s move on. Cody, what do you know about whatever the hell is going on in Heaven right now?”

“Not much more than you,” Cody admits freely. “I think… I think I lost something when I was recalled. I think I _forgot_ something.”

“What do you mean?” Echo asks.

“Because I don’t remember what they did to me,” Cody answers sitting down and running a hand through his hair as he clearly tries to gather his thoughts into something sensible. “I was doubting, questioning. I had been for a while, but when Fox demanded that Obi-Wan use the skills he learned in Hell on Maul I knew I couldn’t do it anymore. It wasn’t even necessary because Fox knew damned well Maul couldn’t kill an angel without access to an angel’s blade and he didn’t have one. It had to be either an angel or Dooku himself because he was the only one who might have an angel blade who wouldn’t be forced to hand it over to Maul.”

“And you knew that beforehand?” Obi-Wan asks in horror and Cody nods bleak and pale.

“I tried to talk Fox out of it, but he wouldn’t have it. Assured me that he had to be Maul, and that he was just hiding what he knew, because a trusted source had witnessed the act,” Cody explains.

“Trusted source?” Rex asks frowning.

“Slick,” Cody says and Rex’s expression turns black.

“That fucking _traitor_ …” he starts but Echo grabs his arm and pulls him back down into his seat.

“Slick was one of Rex’s angels,” Cody explains to the humans in the room. “And a double-agent. Or triple-agent. Or maybe just a rat-assed bastard who went with whichever side was winning at the time. I didn’t even know he was still in Heaven. I thought he died in the war, or ended up in Hell. Apparently though Fox decided to keep him on the payroll and just had him kept… secure. Until he was useful again.”

“He was the one killing angels?” Obi-Wan asks and Cody nods looking exhausted.

“On Fox’s orders,” he confirms. “I don’t know how he picked them,” he shakes his head. “I knew then I had to do something. It wasn’t until Cut turned up; he’s the one who killed Slick, that I had an idea how. Fox and Ponds were well aware I was pulling double duty by that stage, as Michael and as Cody, which somewhat limited my options. I also knew that there were things even I didn’t know about the Apocalypse plan and I thought it would be worth finding out that first.”

“You went digging,” Anakin frowns. “And you got caught.”

“And my brain turned to mush, somehow,” Cody shrugs. “It didn’t hold, whatever it was they did, but I think it was a rush job. They didn’t have time; they needed someone you guys trusted on the ground when the final seals were breaking.”

“And I pressured you into making a break before you were ready,” Obi-Wan comments and Cody nods once at him.

“You probably saved my sanity, though, by doing so, so thanks,” he says and Obi-Wan smiles despite feeling like the worst friend ever. “You know what happened then. We went to the prophet to find out where the final seal was being blown and Ponds followed. We got into a fight in Binks’ living room and I, uh, lost. Spectacularly so.”

“How?” Echo cuts in sharply. “I asked before but you didn’t give a straight answer. You could beat Ponds in a fight, any day of the week.”

“Short answer?” Cody asks and folds his hands together. “I didn’t get cut off when I was resurrected, I was cut off when I was reprogrammed. I just didn’t notice at first. That’s why I know something else went down. There was no reason for them to do that at that moment, unless Fox or Ponds decided they needed insurance in case either of them had to fight me. If they reprogrammed me, made me obedient, then why would they need insurance?”

“And if they knew who you were, why did they let you go in the first place?” Ahsoka muses. “Even if they needed someone on the ground, losing their major player would be a massive disadvantage. The logic doesn’t make sense.”

“So, if you don’t know or don’t remember, then what did Fives learn that makes him think that scorching the planet is a good plan?” Rex asks and Cody shakes his head.

“Fives didn’t stay long after Echo left. He didn’t believe that Echo was dead,” Cody answers and Echo’s face pales. “But I’m almost certain it has to do with Tup.”

“Tup?” Rex frowns, “One of Fives’ angels? Long hair, shy?” he says and Cody nods. “What happened to him?”

“He went crazy,” Cody answers. “One day he just snapped. Killed six other angels and wiped out an entire city,” he explains. “Fortunately it was before massive scale communications and we were able to hush it up. We had no idea what had happened. We brought Tup back to Heaven to try and find out what was wrong with him. One minute he was there, the next he vanished. We never got confirmation of who took him, but I always believed it was Fives. He would never abandon his angels, ever, and there’s no way he missed the explosion. We eventually found Tup, or what was left of him, two months later. He had Fives’ sigil carved into his temple, as if he was trying to heal Tup’s mind with it.”

“Weird,” Ahsoka comments.

“What _is_ Fives’ sigil?” Obi-Wan asks.

“It’s the divine representation of the number five,” Echo says with a roll of his eyes. “He’s the fifth archangel. Five has been a bit of a theme for him, hence the name.”

“Wait, if you’re twins…” Anakin says.

“I’m older, by half a nanosecond,” Echo cuts him off. “Fox and Remiel are both younger than us, Cody, Rex and Ponds are older.”

“Right,” Anakin flushes, clearly aware it was a little ridiculous to ask that question, but then Anakin was a little ridiculous in general.

The discussion peters out then, no one really knowing what else to say. They all know that their chances are slim, there are three archangels in this room but if they don’t even know who is behind this then that doesn’t matter.

 

Obi-Wan starts to think of bait.

 

Fox and Ponds are apparently getting impatient, because they decide to resurrect Xanatos to use as an alternate vessel. They realise this when Echo, Cody and Rex all hear the celestial manoeuvring that allows it and Echo, simply because Rex and Cody refuse to go, is the one who has to go and fetch whoever is resurrected and returns with a bug-fuck insane half-brother for Obi-Wan and Anakin.

Obi-Wan decides he liked Xan better as a ghoul. After five minutes with the stroppy man-child he informs everyone of this, at length, just to see what Xan will do. The answer is try to claw Obi-Wan’s eyes out, which impresses Cody not-in-the-slightest.

“Touch my lover again and I will rend you into molecules and I will make sure you can _feel it_ ,” Cody says, Xanatos held in a vice like grip that is clearly hurting him from the way his bones are creaking with effort. Obi-Wan doesn’t care though, he stares at his angel and tries very hard not to think ‘that is fucking _hot_ ’. “Fox and Ponds have clearly lost their minds if they think I would touch a vessel like _you_.”

“Wait, what?” Xanatos stares at Cody, clearly not understanding. Cody rolls his eyes, throws Xanatos into the couch, hard and then looms over him.

“My name is Mikha’el, Firstborn of the Archangels and Sword of God,” he said at his intimidating best. “I expect my brothers have mentioned me?” he tilts his head to one side.

“No, you’re not,” Xanatos immediately disagrees.

“Yes, he is,” Rex blinks.

“No, he’s definitely not,” Xanatos shakes his head. “Fox said you’d say that. He said you’re an imposter, trying to get angels to go against Heaven. He said you’re conspiring with Lucifer,” there is a long silence as everyone shares a look.

“Well, we can’t really deny the last bit,” Echo says and Rex punches his arm. “What? They aren’t wrong!”

“You’re not anywhere near as funny as you think you are,” Rex informs his brother.

“Says you. I’m still the Trickster you know,” Echo cuts back. At that point they descend into bickering; wandering out of the room apparently oblivious to the atmosphere they left behind.

“And people wonder why I’m boring,” Cody drawls in perfect deadpan. “It’s a defence against those two,” Obi-Wan snickers. “You, insane person, Fox is lying to you and I’m pretty certain he’s doing it on purpose.”

“It’s a con, Xan,” Anakin says because he likes their brother even if he’s insane. “Fox knows full well that Cody is Michael, if he’s telling you otherwise then he’s trying to get you to agree to something without knowing the full details.”

“Does it matter?” Xan asks after several more minutes trying to persuade him to stick with them. “This Michael, that Michael… the Apocalypse is apparently happening and I can stop it. Why would I refuse?”

“Because our Father would absolutely want you to work with Heaven,” Obi-Wan lies through his teeth, on a hunch. “He was very devout, you know.”

“He was?” Xanatos and Anakin seem surprised by this and Obi-Wan meets Anakin’s eyes with a pointed look.

“Right, of course,” Anakin says. “I can’t believe I almost forgot that,” he says, but he doesn’t sound very believable. Fortunately Xanatos is _really_ insane because he doesn’t pick up on it and looks like he is seriously considering it.

“Well, I wouldn’t want to do anything that might risk making Qui-Gon proud of me,” he says after a few minutes and Obi-Wan breathes again. Reverse psychology apparently does work. Of course this decided he turns back to Obi-Wan and Cody, much more fascinated by these brothers he has suddenly acquired than he was before. “So… you’re banging the angel? Because Fox said you were banging your brother.”

“ _What?_ ” Obi-Wan barks, shocked and horrified even as, at the same time, Anakin gags. “ _Eugh, no!_ ”

“Huh,” Xanatos says and relaxes a little more. “That’s alright then. I mean, I’d be up for kinky incest, but I don’t like cock so that wouldn’t work.”

Obi-Wan has a sudden, desperate urge to throw up. Anakin ‘nopes’ out immediately and flees, probably to do just that.

 

Obi-Wan’s perfect plan to keep Xanatos with them lasts a handful of hours until, apparently, Xan sleeps and dreams of Fox – or that’s what they guess happened later when they are woken by three pissed off angels who just got banished to the middle of the Pacific. All three are drenched and irritated and there is no sign of Xanatos.

Obi-Wan doesn’t like Xan, he’s insane and arrogant and spoiled but at the end of the day he is Obi-Wan’s brother and he has no idea what he’s getting into. He wasn’t a hunter; he was a businessman who was related to the wrong man. So, against his better judgement, Obi-Wan tells them they have to go and rescue him. Rex and Cody immediately try to persuade him not to but he stands firm. Echo winces and Obi-Wan knows if his two brothers won’t join in then Echo won’t either so Obi-Wan pulls out the plan that has been turning over in the back of his head.

Bait.

They need to know who is behind this, so they can stop them and persuade Fives his brothers are safe. Whatever the plan is they obviously need Obi-Wan, or another suitable vessel, despite the fact that Cody isn’t on their side. Presumably said vessel is for this ‘other Michael’ that they have. So, they will give Fox and Ponds what they want and hopefully they can learn something of what is going on before they all have to get out of there.

Rex admits, under duress, that he can beat either Ponds or Fox, that he can beat both with Echo backing him up, but only when Obi-Wan promises that he doesn’t have to _kill_ them, just put them out of action for a short time. Anakin and Ahsoka are on board, and then it is only Cody who is refusing to put Obi-Wan at risk.

“We don’t know what’s waiting for you,” Cody insists when Obi-Wan takes him aside.

“No, we don’t. That’s the problem,” Obi-Wan says quietly. “We need answers Cody; this is how we’ll get them.”

“I can’t lose you,” Cody whispers and Obi-Wan kisses him because they are two broken souls, lost and adrift, and Obi-Wan loves his angel despite everything.

“You won’t lose me,” Obi-Wan says. “They still need my consent,” otherwise they would have taken Obi-Wan a long time ago.

“Obi-Wan, _please_ ,” Cody whispers.

“Cody,” Obi-Wan breathes into his ears. “ _Yes_ ,” Cody can’t take him as a vessel, he’s too weak, but that isn’t the point. If he ever needs it, if Obi-Wan can do anything to help his angel he will do it, even let Cody possess him. Cody shudders, clinging to him.

“My Obi-Wan,” he murmurs.

“My angel,” Obi-Wan returns. “I’ll come back to you.”

“You’d better,” Cody demands.

 

Obi-Wan comes back.

Cody doesn’t.

They storm the place where Xanatos is being held. Anakin, Ahsoka and Cody go first because they need it to be believable and because they need to clear a path. Except Fox and Ponds are not stupid, because they have picked Cody’s angels, the ones he left behind because he had to and not because he wanted to. They are the few angels that Cody cannot bear to harm, let alone kill, even after he has been fighting for his life for months.

Boil. Waxer. Wooley. Trapper. Crys.

They are the five angels that Cody cannot and will not allow to be harmed. He knows that they cannot back down, that they can’t disobey like he did. Whatever was done to him, when he was reprogrammed, has been done to them. So he improvises. 

He banishes himself, takes the others with him.

Anakin and Ahsoka don’t admit this until after it is all over. After Obi-Wan storms the beautiful holding room to find Xan, discovers it was a trap to lure him here. That’s fine, because Fox and Ponds appear and Obi-Wan bluffs them into starting whatever it is they need him for and then he calls on Echo and Rex. It blows their cover, because they can’t be anything less than themselves when going up against their two brothers, but that doesn’t matter anymore.

Something black and dark and terrible fills the room and Obi-Wan knows that this is what is controlling Heaven and he knows it is definitely not an angel. He grabs Xanatos, Anakin helping him, and they try to escape but the terrible thing will not let them go and the archangels are too busy. Ahsoka appears next, manages to drag Obi-Wan and Anakin free but the door slams shut between them and Xanatos and they hear him scream but cannot get to him.

Then it is over. Fox and Ponds flee; the beautiful room disappears as if it was never there.

Obi-Wan asks after Cody and his heart breaks when he sees the expression on his brother’s face.

“Did it work at least?” Ahsoka looks at the two angels, battered and bruised but in one piece. “Did you manage to work out what it was?”

“Yes,” Rex answers and he looks at them, terror in his expression.

“It’s the Darkness.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit late, I didn't have internet yesterday, but here's the next chapter. This is where we start diverging from Supernatural canon a little and things are going to go even more sideways in later chapters. We're bringing in season 11 lore and there's definitely going to be a few things brought over from Clone Wars too. 
> 
> In the words of George Lucas, this story and Supernatural season 5 won't be the same... but they will rhyme. Fair warning; I do not guarantee a happy ending.

“Okay, it can’t actually be the Darkness,” Echo objects pointedly.

“You were there Echo, you felt it. Tell me what else it could have been,” Rex argues right back. Neither of the two angels have wavered from their terror stricken expressions since they had left the warehouse and Obi-Wan doesn’t like the implications that has.

“What’s the Darkness?” Anakin asks. “Aside from a terribly unhelpful name.”

“It’s a terribly _descriptive_ name though,” Plo says through his respirator as he plants a book in front of them. “Every mythology in the world has a concept of Darkness that goes beyond just the idea of shadows. Most of them say there is something to be feared in the dark, and most of them don’t proscribe to the modern scientific theory of an instinctual response to the unknown.”

“Are angels afraid of the dark? Because that’s kind of hilarious,” Anakin comments and earns a punch to his arm from Ahsoka for the effort. “What?”

“Tact, Skyguy,” Ahsoka informs him snidely.

“Shut up Snips,” Anakin replies and Obi-Wan rolls his eyes. They’ve known each other for years at this point and yet those nicknames from the first time they met still stick. Rex is looking at them as he does every time the names come out, as if he would very much like to know the story behind it but just like all the other times he doesn’t ask.

“We’re getting side-tracked,” Obi-Wan interrupts pointedly. “Can we get on with what the hell the Darkness is so we can do something useful, like maybe find out what the hell happened to Cody?”

“He banished himself,” Echo shrugs. “I didn’t even know you could _do_ that, let alone what it will do to an angel.”

“Exactly,” Obi-Wan says waspishly. “Rex,” he turns and stares at him. _“Lucifer,”_ he adds when Rex doesn’t look like he’s going to answer. Rex winces.

“Yes, alright,” he huffs. “No need to play dirty,” he steadies himself and Obi-Wan allows it, because he already knows this is going to be awful. “The Darkness is, uh, well its Father’s opposite. Everything God is the Darkness isn’t and vice versa. Together they are the concept of ying-yang on a cosmic, divine scale. They’re… well let’s just say Fives and Echo don’t have the honour of being the first pair of twins in existence.”

“God’s twin,” Obi-Wan deadpans and Rex nods silently. “Oh lovely.”

“Wait, God’s evil twin?” Anakin says and Obi-Wan knows he’s going to say something stupid. “Does he have a goatee? Please tell me he has a goatee, because that’s fucking hilarious,” Echo tilts his head to one side and there is a spark in his eyes that comes directly from the Trickster.

“Not last time I saw it, but trust me, next time we cross paths it’s going to happen,” he says and Rex snorts.

“Anyway,” he clears his throat to get everyone’s attention again. “The point is the Darkness was supposed to be locked up. Like I was, only in comparison to the Darkness’ captivity the Cage was practically low security. That’s why Echo says it can’t be the Darkness, because we’d have felt it get released,” Rex explains. “ _However,_ ” he cuts Echo off before the younger angel can say anything. “The Darkness would be perfectly capable of controlling angels, if it desired, would certainly be a good reason for Fives to think that scorching the Earth to stop it is a good plan and there’s the fact that there are precisely nine beings in Creation that can identify the Darkness on sight. God and Death are two of them.”

“The other seven being the archangels,” Plo hums thoughtfully. “You were the ones to help God lock it away.”

“Yes,” Rex nods and then looks away, guiltily. “The Darkness was trapped inside a Mark, which acted as a lock, and was given to the one God trusted to keep it safe.”

“You,” Obi-Wan deduces. “That’s the reason behind it all; the Darkness influenced you, as it has Fox and Ponds. You got rid of the Mark somehow, before you were locked in the Cage, and were able to overcome its control. That’s why you aren’t playing to the tune of the Apocalypse.”

“Just so,” Rex answers sinking down into a chair to lower his head into his hands. “I gave it to a man named Cain, a human. It demonised him inside of a year, even without going to Hell, and he took the name Bane. In theory he should still have it, but he could have passed it on, or been forced to give it to someone else.”

“Bane was killed ten centuries ago,” Echo speaks up and then frowns. “Did I know he had the Mark? I… feel like I should have known.”

“Does it matter?” Ahsoka asks. “We can worry about _how_ the Darkness got free once we’ve worked out what to do about it now it is free. Can we lock it up again?”

“What, with me and Echo and maybe Cody?” Rex asks and then shakes his head. “Well we can certainly try, but uh… two and a half archangels does not really match up to seven plus God.”

“Three and a half,” Echo corrects. “If Fives is doing this to stop the Darkness, and we can come up with a better plan than ‘scorch the Earth’ then I can talk him into helping us.”

“Fine, three and a half, our odds increase from non-existent to infinitesimal,” Rex agrees.

“What about breaking its control over the other angels?” Obi-Wan asks. “You did, Rex, Cody did as well, to a lesser extent.”

“And it took me a couple of thousand years to do it,” Rex shakes his head. “And Cody wasn’t being controlled fully,” he hesitates then, and Obi-Wan senses he has more to say. “And breaking that control? Pushing through it? You have to have a reason to do so. Something to fight for. Cody did it for you,” he says meeting Obi-Wan’s eyes, no longer even bothering to pretend that Cody’s motivations had a lot more to do with Obi-Wan than anyone or anything else. Obi-Wan pretends that doesn’t thrill him a little, because if he thinks about it he remembers that Cody is missing and they don’t know where.

“What did you fight for?” Echo asks studying his brother carefully.

“Freedom,” Rex answers. “My brother. I gave Cody that scar and it woke something up in me, something I didn’t understand until I was sat in the Cage. I realised I was a slave to that thing, and it had cost me more than I was ever willing to give. I refused to stand by and be a slave any longer.”

“You don’t think that’s enough motivation for Fox and Ponds?” Obi-Wan asks and Rex shakes his head silently.

“Ponds, maybe, but not Fox. Fox has never been good at the whole free will thing, Ponds isn’t great either but he’s not as bad as Fox. There’s probably a reason why the Darkness targeted them for control. After me, it must have realised that controlling archangels is not an easy task,” Rex answers.

“So it went for the two who struggle with the idea of personhood,” Echo scoffs silently. “I always knew those two being dicks was going to come and bite us on the ass eventually.”

“Takes one to know one, dick,” Anakin shoots at Echo who blinks at him innocently. “Oh come on, even if we don’t count the Trickster thing we all know you do the echoing purely for shits and giggles at this stage.”

“Prove it,” Echo shoots back with a grin.

“Boys,” Plo interrupts breaking off the argument before it can get going. “We have two avenues of investigation, now; ways to lock the Darkness away again and ways to break its control over the host. I suggest we get to work.”

“Can’t we just kill it?” Anakin asks sourly.

“Not without destroying the universe no,” Rex answers for them. “Believe me, if Father thought killing the Darkness would have solved anything he would have done it. There’s a balance that needs to be maintained.”

Balance. Obi-wan glances at Anakin and Anakin grimaces. That prophecy is bullshit, they’ve proven it over and over again and yet it still haunts Obi-Wan’s brother no matter what he does.

“If no one objects I’ll hunt down Cody, try to work out what he’s done to himself,” Rex either doesn’t notice or pretends not to notice because he carries on as if Obi-Wan and Anakin hadn’t moved. “If I remember anything useful I’ll let you know.”

Obi-Wan guesses the angel’s self-appointed task is less about finding Cody and far more about getting space, but he knows how trauma works and doesn’t comment. Echo watches his brother go with sad eyes before turning to the others.

“I’m gonna try and get a message to Fives, so he knows we know and we’re working on an alternative. He has Death on his side, so maybe he knows something that could help us,” Echo tells them. “Let me know if you find anything, or if you need me to blow something up.”

“We will,” Ahsoka promises and Echo vanishes in a blink of an eye.

“I miss the days when we only thought it was the Apocalypse coming and all we needed to worry about was which seal was going to fall next,” Anakin says, grouchily. “Well that and Obi-Wan’s painfully obvious crush on an angel.”

“Thank you Anakin,” Obi-Wan deadpans. “As usual you are a fount of helpful comments.”

“I live to please,” Anakin returns.

Anakin might long for the simplicity of the seals falling, but Obi-Wan doesn’t. If only because he and Anakin can bicker like they were now and it doesn’t have about a hundred underlying issues they are refusing to deal with, pushing both of them further and further apart.

With Plo on task and the angels out searching for answers there is little for Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka to do, so rather than sit around on their backsides they are sent out to keep trying to keep the world in one piece long enough for them to save it. They keep going for two weeks solid, not stopping because they can’t. Obi-Wan chokes on fear and grief, knowing the longer it takes for Rex to find Cody the lower the chances of him coming back with good news.

He tells himself not to dwell, tells himself that things are better, that at least they know what they are dealing with, but it doesn’t help.

“We’ll find him Obi-Wan,” Ahsoka tells him as they sit and watch Anakin drive through the torrential rain that refuses to let up. She rests her hands on his shoulders from the backseat and massages them gently. “We’ll find him and you can go back to being sickeningly sappy all over the place.”

“We are not…” Obi-Wan starts to deny it but Anakin scoffs, cutting him off.

“Please, you’re worse than Padme and I ever were,” he says and it’s the first time in a while Anakin has spoken about Padme with anything other than angry grief, so Obi-Wan makes a noise of protest but otherwise does not say anything. The peace is too fragile. “We need to get off the road, this weather is getting dangerous,” Anakin says into the silence.

“I agree,” Ahsoka pipes up, also pretending she didn’t hear Anakin’s comment.

“It’s a good job there’s a motel just up the road then,” Obi-Wan says spotting the neon sign through the gloom of the rain. “Let’s pull in for the night, hopefully the weather will have calmed down by the morning.”

“Great,” Anakin says even as he pulls the car in from the road. As they pass the sign Obi-Wan glances at it, taking note of the name. Elysian Fields.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Having re-read this as posting I've decided to add a **warning for violence** specifically for this chapter. Some mentioned of blood and gore and a couple of minor character deaths. I don't think it's any more graphic than the corresponding Supernatural episode (Hammer of the Gods), but just in case.

Their plan for a night off is rudely interrupted by pagan gods. Really, Obi-Wan thinks, they should be used to this by now. The world is undoubtedly out to get them.

The goddess Talzin has them, is demanding their blood to slate the Morningstar’s lust and Obi-Wan remembers that not everyone is aware that Lucifer has decided to retire and his little brother has taken up the mantle of Devil to stop something far, far worse. So far what has kept them from dying horribly is the Father (not God, another pagan) who speaks of maintaining the balance. Killing them will not stop the Apocalypse, only pause it, and only by killing the source of this war will they achieve anything. That does not mean the Father cares to listen or negotiate with the three hunters, his version of balance and theirs apparently do not coincide.

Things are starting to get a little hairy, when the party is gate-crashed by a familiar face. Echo turns up… or rather the Trickster does. The face of the angel’s standard vessel is a little well known now and when Echo appears it is in his old vessel, the one he had worn when he was still just a powerful monster and not their friend and an undercover archangel.

He transports them to a room, reveals the blood binding spell Talzin has on then, and then hesitates when it comes to getting them out of there.

“Look they’re… well not my friends, because pagans don’t really do friends, but they’re something,” Echo admits. “And the Winged Goddess and I… well,” he doesn’t elaborate; his flush does it for him. The Winged Goddess, the ethereal woman with glowing green hair, who had been called ‘Daughter’ by the Father despite the fact that they theoretically came from completely separate pantheons.

“Great, you don’t want to upset your ex,” Anakin drawls and Echo huffs but doesn’t deny it.

“Look, I’ll talk to Morai, she’s good people and she’ll be able to get your blood back off the Father, he spoils her rotten,” Echo tells them and Obi-Wan agrees, but not before they save the innocent civilians locked in the meat locker. Echo looks resigned, he knows them too well to try and talk them out of it, but heads off to find his ex while the three of them sneak down to the kitchens. If Obi-Wan never has to see eyeball soup made from human eyeballs again it will be too soon.

He would like to say he’s surprised when the plan fails, but he’s really not, and they are dragged back before the gods where Echo is already sat looking sour, stood over by the glowing eyed figure of the Fanged God (otherwise known as the Son by the surely mentally unstable Father). His ex-girlfriend hovers at one side, clearly torn, but not doing anything to help as Talzin and the Father rage at the spy in their midst. Apparently Echo’s cover is well and truly blown.

Then things go from bad to worse.

Echo dies, except he doesn’t, and he still refuses to wipe out the gods that were trying to kill them all horrifically. Then apparently someone else turns up to do it for him. 

The first Obi-Wan and the others know about it is when Talzin and the Father stiffen with shock and a hint of fear. They try to leave but cannot and it becomes very clear why when the screams and shouts start.

“He is here,” the Fanged God says with a feverish light in his eyes. “The Morningstar.”

“There are way too many screams for that to be Rex,” Anakin disagrees. “And not nearly enough gun shots.”

“What?” Talzin looks at Anakin, confused.

“Rex, you know him as Lucifer, he has this pair of pistols he is unhealthily attached to and he’d totally be using them if it was him coming,” Anakin answers. “That isn’t Rex.”

The doors slam open and a figure Obi-Wan has only seen once steps in, drenched from head to toe in blood and with a light in his eyes that leaves Obi-Wan unsettled. Fives smiles, dark and dangerous, as he takes in the sight before him.

“Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka,” he smiles at them and Obi-Wan shivers. That is not a nice smile. He remembers this man, this archangel, has willingly taken on the role of the Devil. Whatever his reasons for it, whether they are routed in selfish or selfless need to protect his brothers or not, it does not change the fact that Fives has been very _good_ at playing the Devil. “Pleasure to see you again.”

“Fives,” Obi-Wan says, mouth dry, even as the three humans back off. Fives looks at the four remaining pagan gods and tilts his head to one side.

“Now, now, that’s just rude,” he tuts at them. “You didn’t say ‘mother may I?’” Obi-Wan guesses that the gods had tried, again, to leave and failed because the archangel didn’t want them to.

“You think you own the planet,” Talzin glares. “What gives you the right?” she demands and then lashes out, attacking the archangel and Obi-Wan flinches. There is the sound of ripping flesh and Fives stares at the god dispassionately, his hand going right through her chest.

“No one gives us the right,” Fives answers. “We take it,” he adds and then withdraws his arm with a sickening squelch and Talzin drops. As she does so she turns from a solid body into heavy green mist which disperses the moment she touches the ground. Fives turns then to the Fanged God and the god stares at Fives with something approaching worshipfulness.

“Thank you for the invite,” Fives says neutrally.

“My Lord, you are most welcome,” the Fanged God says but anything else he might say is choked off as his neck snaps and he too collapses to the floor.

“I’m not interested in lackies or bootlickers. I have enough of that from the demons,” Fives snorts and then turns to the two remaining gods. “We can do this the easy way, or the fun way. Which one?”

“Neither,” a voice cuts across Fives and brings the archangel up short. Echo is stood behind his twin, in the doorway, and his eyes are blazing with anger. “Hello Sariel, long time no see.”

“Gabriel,” Fives turns, hand still dripping with blood. “I knew you weren’t dead,” he grins, all teeth but Echo doesn’t respond, just continues to watch Fives carefully. “You didn’t think that little trick would fool _me_ now did you?”

“It wasn’t a trick,” Echo answers softly. “I wasn’t planning on leaving. You know that. I wasn’t given the choice,” it is the most Echo has ever said out loud about why he disappeared, why Heaven thinks he’s dead and why he has spent the last millennium as a Trickster.

“No,” Fives agrees and his face softens slightly. “Nor was I.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way Fives, we know what we’re up against, you don’t have to burn the world to stop it,” Echo insists, earnest and desperate.

“You know nothing,” Fives disagrees. “There is no other path,” his next smile is bitter. “Good soldiers follow orders, Eyayah.”

“We aren’t soldiers, not anymore, Rayshea’e,” Echo counters. “Please, brother, help us. Let us find another way.”

“I can’t,” Fives answers. “I’m sorry Eyayah,” his face settles into something grim and dark. “I can’t let anyone try to stop me. Not even you.”

“Guys,” Echo says and suddenly there is a blade gleaming in Echo’s hand. “Run,” he orders and Obi-Wan doesn’t need telling twice, he pushes Anakin and Ahsoka closer to the two gods who are frozen in indecision, and they try to flee the room and the two titans about to go head to head.

They don’t even reach the door. Echo and Fives clash, light and wrath sparking against one another, and in that one moment half the hotel comes down around them. The Father surprises Obi-Wan by sheltering them all, humans included, from the falling rubble. Trapped in the near vicinity of two archangels fighting it out was not how Obi-Wan had pictured dying, but to be honest he is too busy thinking rapidly on what Fives had said and done so far and coming up with disturbing answers.

“Good soldiers follow orders,” Obi-Wan breathes, the answer coming to him in an instant.

“What is it Obi-Wan?” Anakin knows Obi-Wan’s expression when he’s onto something.

“He’s being controlled, like the others, at least partially,” Obi-Wan tells them. “He said he can’t try our other path, not that he doesn’t want to,” in an instant he is crawling out from under the rubble to where the two archangels are fighting. Echo is bleeding heavily from a head wound and looks like a thousand bad days in a row. Fives looks like he’s minutes away from bursting into tears, underneath the bloodthirsty expression that was.

“Echo stop!” Obi-Wan shouts and Echo grimaces.

“Kinda busy right now,” he says.

“Echo, you don’t understand, he _can’t_ stop. So long as you fight he _can’t_ because _good soldiers follow orders_ ,” Obi-Wan tells his friend and Echo visibly hesitates, glancing at his twin.

“Fives? Rayshea’e?” Echo whispers, and then he chokes, blood bubbling on his lips because Fives’ blade sinks into his stomach. It isn’t immediately fatal, but it will be if they cannot find someone to heal Echo.

“Good soldiers follow orders,” Fives whispers into Echo’s ear. “I missed you Eyayah,” the tears escape him then, leaking down his face. Then Fives is gone, leaving Echo to bleed out on the floor. Obi-Wan sinks down beside Echo, pressing his hands into the wound, trying to stop it from bleeding and knowing it won’t be enough.

“Echo, stay with me,” he begs. “Please Echo, don’t you dare die on me.”

“Move,” a gentle, hypnotic voice says and Obi-Wan looks up into the eyes of the Winged Goddess, her eyes are steel where before they only worried. “I will save him.”

“Daughter you cannot, the _balance_ ,” the Father says as he, Anakin and Ahsoka crawl out from under the rubble.

“I will save him,” the Goddess repeats and kneels beside Echo her hands taking the place of Obi-Wan’s own. “You always seem to end up in a mess, Echo… or is it Gabriel?”

“Gabriel is the name Dad gave me,” Echo whispered, his lips stained with blood. “Echo is Fives’ name for me.”

“That’s what Eyayah means,” Obi-Wan guesses because he’s not good with the language of the angels but he’s learning. Echo smiles at him weakly and nods. Then he’s groaning with pain and the Winged Goddess is blazing with warm light.

It drains her, Obi-Wan can see that, but Echo is looking less like death warmed over by the second and the pool of blood is not getting any bigger than it was.

“Daughter you must stop,” The Father tries to interrupt but the Winged Goddess ignores him.

“Thanks Morai,” Echo whispers once she raises her hands from his stomach. He is a long way from full health but Obi-Wan knows he is no longer dying. The Winged Goddess sways on the spot and smiles at him.

“We were never meant to be, but I cared for you anyway,” she tells him. “You need to live, I can see that.”

The Father loses patience, he goes for Ahsoka, clearly planning on killing her and the rest of them after her, but the Winged Goddess moves, faster than Obi-Wan would have credited her for. Echo cries out, trying to sit up, but it’s too late. The beautiful goddess is already between the Father and Ahsoka and this time there is no one to heal her before the wound takes her life.

“You killed her,” Echo growls out as the Father backs up, clearly horrified. He doesn’t get the chance to even say anything because Echo finally chooses and his blade sinks into the Father’s heart an instant later. Obi-Wan doesn’t pay more attention than that as he turns to see Ahsoka holding the goddess to her chest and they are whispering something to one another, something no one else can hear but Obi-Wan is passable at reading lips and he knows whatever it is, it is about Echo and looking after him.

The two gods die.

Obi-Wan and Anakin carry Echo out of the ruins of the hotel, Ahsoka trailing after them with a shell shocked look on her face. Obi-Wan wants to ask but doesn’t. They have other worries.

Like the fact that Fives is apparently being controlled as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it isn't obvious. Angelic language = Mando'a (instead of Enochian as in Supernatural)  
> Translations: Eyayah means Echo, Rayshea’e means Fives (specifically the plural of five)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not completely forget to update last week, not at all. Slanderous lies, all of it. Forgetting to update does not sound like me at all. You are definitely not getting a double post this week to make up for my terrible memory. Lies I tell you. Lies.

“I’m sorry little brother,” Rex reappears, sans Cody, the moment that Anakin prays to tell him Echo is hurt. He perches on the bed they have laid Echo out in, and runs fingers through Echo’s hair. “I had no idea Fives was…” he shakes his head and trails off.

“Not your fault,” Echo says reaching out and taking Rex’s other hand and squeezing it gently. “None of us knew.”

“No,” Rex answers, his eyes burning fever bright and Obi-Wan knows he is trying not to cry. “But I didn’t listen to him. I should have listened to him.”

“When?” Echo asks, confused.

“He was there, when I got out of the Cage, he’s the one who brought me this vessel,” Rex says. “That’s how I knew to be suspicious of what he was up to. He asked me for help, I thought he meant burning the world. He didn’t… the words ‘good soldiers follow orders’ wasn’t something he said then but… I should have listened. I should have realised he wouldn’t ask for help otherwise. But I’d literally just got free and I…” his voice cracked.

“You weren’t expecting the problems that exist in Heaven,” Echo says quietly. “You thought it was just the Apocalypse, not everything else, and you could just call it off by talking to Cody. So you hung around the vessels, waiting for Cody to turn up.”

“More or less,” Rex admits and then sighs and looks up at the rest of them. “We should let him rest, the healing is stable and he’ll be back on his feet in a couple of days so long as he doesn’t push it.”

“Urgh, bed rest,” Echo sighs but doesn’t try to argue. Rex leans down to kiss his forehead and then sits back, turning to leave the room. Anakin and Obi-Wan go with him but Ahsoka doesn’t, she enters the room and closes the door quietly behind her. Obi-Wan pretends not to notice and definitely doesn’t draw Anakin’s attention to it. He has always been overprotective of Ahsoka, but now, since her mother and since Famine he is even more so.

“So, what does this mean?” Anakin asks Rex once they are in the living room of Plo’s house. Rex shakes his head.

“Fives has some autonomy that much is obvious. He couldn’t pass us cryptic messages otherwise. But he’s not going to be able to tell us anything, not so long as he’s even partially controlled,” Rex hesitates. “At this stage we have to consider Cody was also being controlled, before his reprogramming I mean, even if it was only to force his silence on matters, or to make him forget certain things.”

“He’s not anymore though,” Obi-Wan says and Rex shakes his head. “Did you find him?”

“No,” Rex answers and there is a look of dark grief in his eyes. “Cody’s Grace is nowhere to be found on Earth and he was too weak to have banished himself to another world, or through time.”

“So he’s dead?” Anakin asks when Obi-Wan cannot bring himself to speak following that revelation.

“Possibly,” Rex says. “Maybe even probably. The only reason I might not be able to find him would be because… because he has no Grace left to find. If he’s…”

“Human,” Obi-Wan finishes for him and Rex nods. “So what do we do now?”

“You could ask for help,” an unfamiliar voice says from behind him and everyone turns to find a demon stood there, leaning against the wall casually. He smirks, a dangerous predatory smile, and his glass eye gleams in the light even as his other eye flashes red.

“ _You_ ,” Anakin snarls as he lunges towards the demon but Obi-Wan catches him before he could do something regrettable.

“Who are you?” Rex asks, tilting his head to one side. “I don’t recognise you.”

“No reason you should,” the demon answers in a low growl that is almost like a purr. “The name is Wolffe. I’m in the…acquisition business as it were, and I recently acquired something I think you might be interested in.”

“Wolffe,” Rex says and then it clicks. “The demon who had the Colt.”

“Just so,” Wolffe continues to smirk.

“You’re information was lousy,” Rex informs him. “I’ve been nowhere near Carthage.”

“You _mean _he lied!” Anakin snarls. “He sent us into a trap.”__

____

“Matter of fact, no, I didn’t,” Wolffe answers. “I told you the Devil was in Carthage and, in so far as I’m aware, that one retired,” he nods to Rex. “Which means the title is up for grabs. Not my fault you lot are idiots who couldn’t put two and two together.”

____

“What do you want?” Obi-Wan asks and Wolffe pushes up off from the wall and takes a step forward before coming to a sharp halt and sighing, heavily, before staring up at the ceiling and the Devil’s trap.

____

“Seriously?” he asks looking back at them. “It’s as though you’re asking for major structural damage.”

____

“I’d prefer if you did not destroy my house in an attempt to escape the trap,” Plo announces as he sweeps into the room, shotgun already in his hands, respirator mask firmly in place. “Especially as it won't work. Tell us something useful and we’ll let you go.”

____

“Oh I see how it is,” Wolffe rolls his eye, which looks more than a little freaky if Obi-Wan is honest. “I do all the hard work and you lot profit? Hmm, no,” he says.

____

“What do you want?” Rex asks. “And what do you know that is worth whatever price you’re demanding?”

____

“I know what it is you’re missing, when it comes to the thing you are facing, and I know how to lock it up. Permanently,” Wolffe replies then pauses. “Well you already know how to lock it up, you just don’t know you know and I can tell you.”

____

“And why would we trust you to tell us the truth?” Anakin growls, and Obi-Wan grabs his brother’s arm again to stop him from stepping forward threateningly.

____

“The world ending is bad for business,” Wolffe replies. “If all of Earth is Hell then who is going to bother selling their soul? And that’s assuming our new Devil wins and not the thing orchestrating this whole situation.”

____

“That’s it?” Plo scoffs. “I very much doubt it.”

____

“Well there’s also the part where I’d rather not die horribly too, princess,” Wolffe informs Plo his eye flickering over the older hunter.

____

“So what’s your price?” Obi-Wan decides to get back on topic. “For this information, what’s your price?” he asks when Wolffe turns to him.

____

“Two things,” he answers. “Firstly your precious Fox has something of mine and I want it back. A box, this size,” he gestures with his hands. “Made of obsidian and carved with a wolf’s face.”

____

“What is it?” Anakin demands and Wolffe snorts.

____

“None of your damned business,” he then turns to Rex. “Secondly I want Hell.”

____

“Not mine to give,” Rex replies dryly.

____

“It is actually,” Wolffe scoffs. “If you’d bothered to lay a claim it would answer to you over anyone else, even our new Devil. Not the point however. I only need you to remove yourself and this _Fives_ from the running. I can take it from there.”

____

“Hell and a box in exchange for information?” Obi-Wan looks at his companions. “It’s not the worst deal I’ve ever heard.”

____

“We can’t trust him,” Anakin refuses immediately. “How do we even know he’s telling the truth about the information?”

____

“He is,” Rex says and then pauses. “Well he _believes_ he’s telling the truth about the information which does not necessarily mean his information is actually useful. Just that he thinks it is.”

____

“It _is_ useful,” Wolffe snarls. “Do you think I’d come to a group of hunters and angels, all of whom are perfectly capable of killing me, if I wasn’t _damn sure_.”

____

“Out of interest, how did you find us?” Plo asks then and Wolffe shrugs.

____

“I’ve been tracking their car for weeks,” he gestures at Anakin and Obi-Wan. “It wasn’t difficult.”

____

“How about a compromise,” Obi-Wan cuts in before this can descend into another argument. Anakin loves that car, and takes any perceived insult to it very, very seriously. “We’ll agree to giving you Hell when this is all over and letting you out of the Devil’s trap in exchange for the information. If the information is good then we’ll also find your box and pass it on.”

____

Wolffe studies Obi-Wan with those unsettling eyes. Obi-Wan has never seen a demon use a flawed meatsuit before, they tend to go for the pretty ones, but Wolffe apparently likes the pure intimidation of having one glass eye and one scarlet eye staring his prey down. Wolffe is perhaps a very good name for this particular demon.

____

“Hell first because if the information _isn’t_ good then it costs you nothing because no one will be getting Hell,” Wolffe deduces and grins, all teeth and violence. “I like you; you’d make a good crossroads demon,” he says. “You ever feel like a change in career I can make a space in my pack for you.”

____

“I’m flattered,” Obi-Wan replies dryly and Wolffe lets out a sharp bark of laughter that is just as unsettling as his smile.

____

“We have a deal,” he agrees. “Hell and my freedom for the information, and if it’s good you’ll get my box back off Fox.”

____

“I assume you want us to sign something?” Obi-Wan asks dryly and Wolffe snaps his fingers. A scroll appears in Obi-Wan’s hand and he obediently opens it and raises his eyebrows before passing it straight to Plo. He’s better at reading calligraphy and he knows legalese better than Obi-Wan.

____

It’s a long half hour as Plo reads every single term on the paper and changes more than half a dozen of them. Anakin and Rex look increasingly bored but Wolffe seems to grow in respect for Plo every time the older hunter figures out one of the cleverly worded traps in the contract. By the time Plo is satisfied Wolffe is shooting him looks that Obi-Wan never wants to see on a demon’s face again.

____

“This is acceptable,” Plo says and hands the corrected scroll back to Obi-Wan to sign. He made the deal, thus it has to be him who signs it. He does so with a flourish and then Wolffe grins. Obi-Wan knows what it coming next and honestly, kissing a demon for the second time in his life was not high on his to do list. For Wolffe’s sake it’s probably good that Cody isn’t here, that wouldn’t have ended well for anyone.

____

“Excellent doing business with you,” he says and snaps his fingers. The scroll vanishes and Obi-Wan feels a familiar itch in the back of his skull reminding him of the deal. It’s not the first demon deal he’s been involved in after all. “Now, let me out,” Wolffe demands.

____

It takes a matter of minutes to free the demon and he takes advantage of said freedom to saunter over to Plo’s alcohol cabinet and pour himself a drink.

____

“Now, information,” Rex demands.

____

“Very well,” Wolffe says and sits casually in Plo’s chair looking every inch the relaxing predator.

____

“Let’s start with the obvious. You are not, actually, dealing with the Darkness. At least not it’s full manifestation.” 

____

“What?”

____


	10. Chapter 10

“You heard me,” Wolffe says. “The Darkness hasn’t been fully released, only partially so. It is still, technically, trapped in the Mark of Bane and thus is very dependent on its bearer.”

“Then how can it be manifest at all?” Rex demands, “I know how that Mark works, it shouldn’t be possible.”

“Because the Line of Bane has been feeding the Darkness for the last thousand years in order to try and break its chains,” Wolffe replies.

“How do you know this?” Plo asks and Wolffe’s eye flashes with supressed fury.

“I have a particular bone to pick when it comes to the Line of Bane,” he informs them shortly and gestures to his missing eye.

“What’s the Line of Bane?” Ahsoka interrupts suddenly entering the room. “Also why’s there a demon? Echo felt him arrive and got worried when he didn’t get exorcised or killed immediately.”

“Wolffe is here to give us information,” Obi-Wan answered. “Although I too would like to know what you mean by the Ling of Bane.”

“We’re trusting this dick?” Ahsoka glares at Wolffe, tense and ready to strike. “He killed my mother.”

“I really didn’t,” Wolffe snorts and then pauses. “When?”

“By sending us into that trap at Carthage, scumbag,” Ahsoka hisses.

“Not a trap,” Wolffe says dismissively.

“Soka,” Plo rests a hand on her shoulder. “None of us like it, but if he has useful information then we need to hear him out,” Ahsoka bristles but subsides.

“To answer your question,” Wolffe goes right back to it, looking at Obi-Wan and ignoring Ahsoka, “The Line of Bane is the line of demons that have carried the Mark. Bane started it, he took in a human child and raised them as what he called an Apprentice, and then when the child was grown they killed their Master and took the Mark from him. The rule of two, there is always a Master and an Apprentice and when the Apprentice surpasses the Master they take the Mark. Thus you have a dynasty of increasingly powerful, near invincible demons feeding an ancient evil. The last Master, who went by the name of Plagueis, was a nasty piece of work who intimidated even Dooku. He was the one who initiated the Apocalypse plan but it was his Apprentice, Sidious, who took over and ran with it. He’s the one who decided that the angels and the host posed too great a threat and decided to bend them to his will.”

“Souls,” Rex realises something then, his eyes burning. “It’s about souls, isn’t it?”

“Bingo,” Wolffe nods at Rex.

“Rex?” Anakin asks and Rex sighs.

“Souls are powerful; each one is basically a nuclear reactor for celestial energy. You feed the Darkness enough souls and it gets stronger and stronger until it is powerful enough to break its bonds alone,” Rex explains. “The Apocalypse will sacrifice _millions_ of souls at once to the Darkness.”

“Just so,” Wolffe nods.

“That’s why Fives is trying so hard to win, to get around whatever control this Sidious has on him. If Hell wins and scorches the Earth there will be no souls left to sacrifice,” Rex added and Wolffe hums in confirmation. “If there are no souls, then the Darkness can’t escape more than it already has.”

“But what about the vessel thing?” Anakin asks. “Why did they need Obi-Wan? Or Xan? They knew Cody had broken free, and you said it was the Darkness that came down when they took Xan.”

“They don’t need a vessel for Michael, that’s true,” Wolffe answers. “But they do need a vessel for the Darkness. Sidious can’t be it, that’s not how it works. They wanted the strongest one they could find and, until you blew your cover,” he nodded at Rex. “They didn’t expect to actually need Michael but they did think they’d need Lucifer. At the very least the Darkness is not likely to be happy about Lucifer’s continuing existence and will want to tear him to shreds.”

“Oh _joy_ ,” Rex sighs.

“They got sick of waiting for me to consent,” Obi-Wan murmurs, as he realises. “But they needed a vessel in place before they started the end game, because presumably there are some preparations that need to be made.”

“But if they have a vessel now, Xan,” Ahsoka says quietly. “Then the end game, it must have started, right?”

“Just so,” Wolffe answers with a dark smirk. “Why do you think I’m here now? The only hold out was our new Devil and apparently he’s resisting less than he had before. Something about a twin?” he asks and it’s clear though he does ask he already knows the answer. Rex hisses in annoyance even as the humans all share looks. They have no idea what effect hurting Echo would have on Fives, but they know what effect the reverse would have had. They also don’t know if Fives is aware that Echo survived.

“Alright, so the end game has started,” Anakin says grimly. “You said you know how we can stop it, or rather that we already know how to stop it we just don’t realise it.”

“The Darkness isn’t free, its fate is still bound to Sidious,” Wolffe says flatly. “And demons, even ones as powerful as Sidious, are far easier to deal with than an immense evil thing from before the dawn of time.”

“We can’t kill him,” Rex says slowly, clearly turning over ideas in his head. “The Mark won’t let him go. But,” he pauses. “But we do know how to lock him away. Permanently. Or nearly permanently. And in a place where the Darkness’s hold on the host will be severely weakened.”

“We do?” Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan are all surprised.

“The Cage,” Rex says, “Is currently empty and we know for a fact that it weakens connection between Mark and former bearer and the Darkness’ hold on the host will be far weaker than the hold it had on me.”

“But, wait, the Seals?” Anakin’s laser focus is on Rex now, turning the plan over in his head.

“Are not the only way in and out of the Cage, but the second version is far, _far_ more difficult to get a hold of,” Rex answers looking at Wolffe with a curious expression, clearly trying to work out how the demon knows whatever it is about the Cage that Rex does. “Huh,” he blinks at Wolffe. “An obsidian box you said?”

“Yeah,” Wolffe lifts his chin up and scowls at Rex. “Problem with that?”

“Not at all,” Rex grins bright and fierce and for a second Obi-Wan sees the angel that was called Morningstar. “Well played.”

“Some of us learnt the art of subtly,” Wolffe drawls and Rex actually cackles out loud which surprises everyone.

“Rex,” Obi-Wan says pointedly. “How can we open and lock the Cage? Why is it more difficult than the Seals?”

“Because it requires the cooperation of Death and he’s notoriously disinclined to do anything to help anyone,” Rex answers easily. “The rings of the four horsemen combine to make a key which can open and lock the Cage, resetting the Seals – one of which is now impossible to break because Dooku is gone beyond all attempts to revive him – and thus making it a nice little trap for this Sidious. All we need are the rings and a way to lure Sidious in.”

“Wait, don’t we already have two of those?” Ahsoka perks up. “War and Famine, respectively.”

“What do you know, we’re half way there already,” Rex says, fierce and bright and really fucking pleased. Obi-Wan feels something bubbling up in his chest that none of them have had for a long time. Hope.

“I’ll start tracking Pestilence,” Plo offers immediately. “What about Death?”

“I’ll find him,” Rex promises. “But I’m not going to chat with him alone, he’s never liked me.”

“I’ll come,” Obi-Wan offers because this is Death and maybe he’ll know what happened to Cody. It seems worth a shot anyway. Also he’s not letting his baby brother or adopted sister go to see _Death_ , not happening.

“Great,” Wolffe interjects. “If you’re happy, I’m off, you need more information then call,” he looks pointedly at Rex. “And don’t forget, that deal is binding. I want my box.”

“You’ll get it,” Rex promises and then Wolffe is gone. “Normally I’d suggest a celebration, given that we finally have a way to finish this, but we’re on a deadline. I’m off to track down Death, give me a call when you find Pestilence,” then he’s gone.

“I’m gonna go tell Echo what we know,” Ahsoka announces and trots off to visit the sick archangel. Plo also makes his escape, leaving Obi-Wan and Anakin alone together.

“We actually have a chance at this, don’t we?” Obi-Wan murmurs and Anakin smiles a little helplessly.

“We actually might,” he agrees.

 

It is not that simple, of course it isn’t.

Echo is the one to point out the obvious. How are they going to get Sidious into position to be trapped when none of them have even caught so much as a glimpse of him in all this time? They have nothing to bait him with, because all he needs to do – now that the Darkness has a vessel and Fives has apparently given up fighting – is sit back and wait for the Apocalypse to conclude and reap the benefits.

They need something unexpected. Something that will call Sidious to them.

But first they need the rings.

Hunting Pestilence turns out to be more difficult than they expected without the angels to help. Fortunately Wolffe has a sense of fair play most demons don’t have, he’s invested in them succeeding so Obi-Wan will complete his deal and offers to help. Of course Wolffe is still a demon so his version of ‘help’ naturally involves another deal. Obi-Wan might have objected, had Plo not taken advantage of Anakin and Obi-Wan shopping for supplies while Ahsoka kept Echo company in order to make the deal anyway. One soul in exchange for the location of Pestilence. Plo insists it is worth the price. Obi-Wan just wishes there wasn’t photographic evidence and wonders if Wolffe could have told them Pestilence’s location without the deal and just wanted the excuse to make-out with Plo. Then he regrets the train of thought and tries to purge it from his brain with limited success.

Still, the end result is Pestilence’s location and they set out on the hunt. They should have learned from Famine and War, however, because of course it isn’t that simple. They only manage to get his ring by virtue of Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka falling down in front of him, beyond sick into dying and thus distracting him so he doesn’t notice Echo almost crawling from his own sick bed to come and chop his finger off. With three out of the four rings, and Rex still not back with the location of Death, they return to Plo’s to start talking battle tactics.

“It’s not about what Sidious wants,” Plo informs them. “Not entirely. It’s about what the Darkness wants.”

“Freedom,” Obi-Wan says instantly. “But we can’t bait it with that.”

“Rex,” Anakin says then, eyes wide. They look at him warily. “Wolffe said the Darkness wants Rex, wants to shred him alive.”

Obi-Wan knows his brother, knows the look on his face and knows what he is about to suggest next. He won’t allow it, to say nothing of whether Rex would agree.

“Anakin, _no_.”

“Can you think of a better idea?” he demands.

The problem is, of course, that Obi-Wan can’t. They spend hours debating it, going around and around in circles and no one else can think of another alternative. There is no alternative.

It is Echo who firms it all up into an actual plan, much to Obi-Wan’s horror.

Echo will distract Fives. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka and Plo will act as a distraction to Xanatos but also attempt to remove the Darkness from him. This is not crucial, but preferable. Their trump card can do it, but they don’t want him on the field until Sidious is already there. Once either the Darkness is expelled or the human contingent has exhausted their options, Anakin-and-Rex will arrive. Then it is their show.

It is not lost on Obi-Wan that Anakin will, by doing this, restore the balance which is shifting dangerously in one direction. The prophecy has always haunted Anakin and it is supposed to be bullshit, but it persists anyway no matter what they do.

Rex returns to tell them he has found Death. Before he and Obi-Wan set off for California he is brought in on their plan. For a long time he only stands there, silently. Then he asks if they really do trust him to do this, in spite of everything.

“Rex, you’re family, of course we trust you,” Ahsoka says as if it was never in doubt.

“Vode an, Vaar’tur Ka’ra,” Echo murmurs and Rex looks at him and closes his eyes. Obi-Wan watches and thinks they are probably witnessing something deeply profound. Rex cast off the chains of his shackles a long time ago, but that doesn’t mean he was the angel he had been before the Darkness. Now as he opens eyes that glow golden Obi-Wan thinks that the Morningstar has finally found himself again.

“If it is Lucifer the Darkness wants, then it is Lucifer it will get,” Rex says and looks to Anakin. “I won’t ask if you’re really sure about this. I know you are. I’ll take Obi-Wan to speak to Death, but be ready for when we get back.”

“I will be,” Anakin promises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angelic/Mando'a
> 
> 'Vode an, Vaar'tur Ka'ra' translates to 'Brothers all, Morningstar'
> 
> (lit. Ka'ra means 'stars' and according to ancient mandolorian myth is a ruling council of fallen kings. Shamelessly re appropriated for this story)


	11. Chapter 11

Death is… not what Obi-Wan was expecting.

Granted he hadn’t had much of an image in his head of what Death would look like, except he supposed a robed skeleton but he wasn’t stupid enough to think that was actually what Death looked like. Still. The figure waiting for them in the bakery, enjoying a plateful of cookies, throws him for a loop entirely.

Death is apparently a two foot tall, green troll-like creature with unsettling eyes and a tendency to talk fucking _backwards_.

“Chained, I do not enjoy being,” Death informs them shortly, not impressed in the slightest. “And free, the Darkness, I do not wish. Give over my ring, freely, I will not, however. Not unless a plan, you have.”

Obi-Wan is still trying to work out what the hell Death is actually saying there when Rex responds.

“We have a plan,” it’s somewhat defensive but it’s honest.

“Hmmm,” Death studies Rex for a long moment and then turned to Obi-Wan. “Agree with this plan, do you?”

“Me?” Obi-Wan blinks, not understanding. “Why does my opinion matter? I’m not the one planning on going head to head with the most powerful demon to have ever existed.”

“Matter, no one’s opinion does, and yet everyone’s,” Death says simply tilting his head to one side. “Your brother, the sacrifice will be. Return to you he might not. Changed he will be, in agreeing to this, even if return he does,” Obi-Wan does not ask how Death knows their plan, it would probably break his brain to know.

“I know that,” he swallows the fear down instead, and answers the being before him. Death is tiny, but at the same time so immense that Obi-Wan can feel it. “But I know Rex, I trust him. He’ll do what he can to protect Anakin and… it will sound stupid, but this? This is a far better fate for my brother than I expected a year ago, when the Seals were falling. A far better one nine months ago, when we didn’t know who Rex was, and Anakin saying ‘yes’ would result in the end of the world. I don’t want him to die, no, and I’d prefer that whatever happens he remains Anakin. But. He’s willing and I won’t disrespect his choice. I wouldn’t even if it was stupid, pointless and would result in the end of the world, but it isn’t. It’s brave and might just save us all.”

“Hmmm,” Death hums again, considering. “Love your brother, do you?”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan swallowed.

“Dangerous, attachment is, but know this, you do. Learned that lesson, you have,” Death says and Obi-Wan thinks back to the demon deal that saved his brother’s life and condemned Obi-Wan to Hell to break the First Seal. He doesn’t _regret_ it, necessarily, but he knows it was a stupid thing to do. He understands that he made it a lot easier for Sidious to carry out his plan, though judging by the convoluted plotting that has gone on just during his lifetime he suspects he would have ended up in Hell anyway.

That isn’t the point Death is trying to make. He isn’t looking for whether Obi-Wan would have broken the First Seal if he didn’t make that deal – that isn’t in question. He wants to know if Obi-Wan has to, will he accept his brother’s loss.

“I love Anakin,” Obi-Wan repeats, because that is important. “I’d do anything for him. Up to an including learning to live without him, so that his sacrifice won’t be in vain.”

“Wise you are, for a human,” Death comments and looks back to Rex. “This sacrifice, willing to make, are you?”

“Yes,” Rex answers. “I have a lot to make up for. Whatever arguments about diminished responsibility due to brainwashing exist, I still did terrible things to my brothers. If doing this will save them, then I will do it.”

“Save the world too, hmmm? And your Father’s favourites?” Death asks and Rex winces briefly but then looks to Obi-Wan and he is smiling.

“There might be a few worth protecting,” he admits.

“Learn you can,” Death chuckles, clearly pleased with the answer. “Good, this is. A chance you may have,” he reaches out showing a clawed hand with three fingers and a heavy, silver ring set with a black stone. He slides it off and hands it to Rex. “My ring, I will give you. But return it, I expect you to,” he admonishes them both sharply.

“One of us, if we survive, will make sure of it,” Rex says and then lets out a yelp as a small twisted walking stick materialises from nowhere for Death to smack the archangel on the head. “Oww!”

“Death I am,” Death informs Rex shortly. “Your survival, irrelevant is. Return my ring to me, you will.”

“Yes Death,” Rex ducks his head, still wincing and rubbing his skull.

“Ask you will,” Death turns then to Obi-Wan, who blinks in surprise. “Your question,” the being clarifies. “Ask it, you will.”

“I…” Obi-Wan chokes on the words, heart aching already for the answer he fears. “Death, please. Cody… Michael. Have you taken him?”

“Take people, I do not,” Death informs them. “Stealing, take implies. Guide them home, I do. A natural part of life, death is. Required, no stealing is,” he pauses then, looking from Obi-Wan’s desperate expression to Rex’s hopeful one. “Passed into my hands, God’s eldest has not. Where he is, I know not, but alive he is.”

Obi-Wan feels sick with relief. Cody is alive. Anakin and Rex are about to do something reckless and potentially suicidal to save the world, but Cody is alive. Somewhere.

It’s enough. It has to be enough.

“Thank you,” Obi-Wan breathes, relaxing.

“Thank me not, should you. Alive, God’s eldest is, but a price to be paid, there is. Know you do, what fate he faces now,” Death says and Obi-Wan looks to Rex who looks back with grief in his eyes. If Cody is alive and Rex cannot find any trace of his Grace, it means Cody is human. Human and with all the rewards and weaknesses that comes with that. Not limited to the fact that, wherever he is, he is now mortal. His death, now, is not just a possibility but an inevitability.

“Being human isn’t terrible,” Obi-Wan says more for Rex than for himself. “And I’ll find him, help him. He might not be what he was, but what he was, was kind of a dick, so there’s that at least,” Rex snorts in amusement.

“Well you’re not wrong,” he allows and turns back to Death. “We should go; we’re running out of time. Thank you for helping us.”

“Hmph, less annoying you are, tell your Father I should,” Death says. “Owes me money He does.”

“I don’t want to know,” Rex says bleakly putting his hand on Obi-Wan’s shoulder to transport them away. As they do so Obi-Wan could have sworn he sees Death laughing to himself. He doesn’t say anything, he isn’t stupid, and just lets the world swirl away in an instant as his stomach jolts at the rapid transport.

 

Anakin is waiting when they return, grim faced but clearly his mind is made up. Obi-Wan looks to Rex, asking for a minute and the angel nods his agreement. He takes his brother to one side, knowing there are things that need to be said before they can’t say it anymore – just in case.

“You don’t need to worry Obi-Wan, I’m coming back,” Anakin insists and Obi-Wan smiles faintly.

“I know you and Rex will do your best, but I want to say this, just in case,” he says putting his hands on his brother’s shoulders. “Anakin. We haven’t always had it easy, I know sometimes the only reason we stay together is because of the blood that binds us, but you need to know that whatever differences we have, I do love you.”

“I know Obi-Wan,” Anakin looks embarrassed, never really one to accept easy affection from Obi-Wan though he’ll allow it from others. “You don’t need to…”

“Yes. I do,” Obi-Wan says. “I know you’re going to do your best to come home, but this is the biggest hunt we’ve ever been on,” he repeats it to make sure that Anakin understands where he’s coming from. “I love you Anakin, you’re my baby brother. I am also so very, very proud of you.”

“Yeah,” Anakin doesn’t meet his eyes, clearly embarrassed. “I don’t know why. But I… I’m glad,” he says and then finally, finally turns to look at Obi-Wan properly. “I guess if we’re doing this, then I gotta say… I’m glad you’re here Obi-Wan. I don’t… I know where I’d be if you weren’t here and I know it’s not a place I’d ever want to go again. You’ve done so much for me and I haven’t always been very grateful for that. So, thanks,” he said and then hesitated for a second. “And I know you loved Dad, but you gotta know, Obi-Wan, that he never deserved you. You are and always have been far better than him,” in another circumstance Obi-Wan might argue that, but in this moment Anakin’s eyes are fierce and determined and Obi-Wan knows that Anakin doesn’t want an argument, he just wants Obi-Wan to accept. Even if he can’t bring himself to believe.

“He didn’t deserve you, either, Ani,” Obi-Wan says instead and then hugs his baby brother, as tightly as he can. Anakin has been taller than him since he was seventeen but for once Obi-Wan doesn’t mind being wrapped up in his brother’s arms.

Then the moment is over and the time is here. They can’t delay any longer. Anakin steps away, resolute, and meets Rex’s eyes.

“I know you’re gonna do what you can to protect them and me,” he tells the angel. “But you should know, if you have to choose you’d better damn well choose them.”

“You’re my True Vessel, Anakin,” Rex replies his eyes steady and bright. “We were made to fit one another. You’ll never have to ask for anything, not from me,” Rex’s words mean something and Obi-Wan suspects it’s from that very first meeting, in Anakin’s dream, back before Rex learned that all he had to do to find his brother was hang around Obi-Wan long enough.

Anakin nods, clearly understanding Rex’s meaning, and then turns to hug first Ahsoka and then a surprised Plo. It’s not a goodbye, Obi-Wan refuses to believe it’s a goodbye, but it is a parting of ways. As Anakin steps up to Rex, Obi-Wan knows in his heart that whatever happens next Anakin will come out of it different. It might not be a _bad_ change, but it will change.

“Ask,” Anakin says and Rex smiles at him.

“Anakin Kenobi, Walker of the Sky, will you be my vessel?” Obi-Wan doesn’t know where Rex has learned Anakin’s old racing name, from his teenage years when he would use his fake ID not to buy booze like most adolescents but to sneak onto unsanctioned racetracks and hit the throttle. However Anakin clearly approves of its use. From the way Ahsoka is smirking either she has finally told Rex the story of how she and Anakin met – on a racetrack, naturally – or she has at least given him enough clues that he’s skipped back in history to watch for himself. It’s even odds, at this stage.

“Yes,” Anakin answers.

The world turns a blinding white and Obi-Wan has to cover his eyes to spare them because screwing them up isn’t enough. For a long moment there is nothing, then a body falls to the floor with a thud of finality, and the light dies. Rex’s vessel is a crumpled heap on the floor and Anakin is stood doing nothing but breathing. Except it isn’t Anakin, not anymore, or at least it is not _only_ Anakin.

“Whoa,” Rex-and-Anakin say, their voice holding a strange duality to it. “Trippy,” then Anakin’s head tilts to one side and their eyes roll. They wave a hand and a full-sized mirror appears in front of them. And here is where it gets weird because the Anakin they are stood with crosses his arms over his chest while the Anakin in his reflection just looks sheepish.

“Really?” the real Anakin, who isn’t Anakin at all but Rex, asks and the reflection of Anakin, who is apparently actually Anakin, just shrugs.

“Sorry. It’s not like I’m used to getting possessed!” he says out loud, though his voice is distorted as if speaking from the other side of the glass.

“Just… try and go with it. Don’t fight me,” Rex sighs even as Anakin in the reflection winces.

“Hey! That hurt!” he massages his head. “Why am _I_ getting headaches?” Rex blinks for a long moment and then his gaze seems to unfocus as he stares into nothingness.

“Oh, right, sorry. My bad. It’s been a while since I inhabited an already inhabited body and last time I was… uh… less inclined to be careful,” he says and then the reflection isn’t wincing anymore. “You good?” Rex asks Anakin.

“I’m good,” he says and then winks at Obi-Wan like this is at all natural. Rex waves a hand again and the mirror disappears, taking Anakin’s reflection with it. When he turns around to find all of them staring at him he shrugs, self-consciously.

“Teething issues,” he tells them, his voice still definitely Rex which at least makes it at little easier to comprehend and is a lot less weird than the dual voices.

“Dude, you should have kept the dual voice,” Ahsoka apparently disagrees. “You could have done an _epic_ goa’uld impression.”

“’Soka, you have the _best_ ideas,” Echo agrees.

The world is about to end, they’re going to face down the biggest bad guy in history and Obi-Wan’s brother has volunteered himself to be an archangel’s meatsuit. Yet somehow as they all laugh it feels… _fine_. Like just another hunt and Obi-Wan allows himself to hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone agree with Obi-Wan and think everything might be okay?


	12. Chapter 12

They don’t know where the showdown between the Darkness and Fives is going to be and they are painfully aware that as it stands they have been relegated to cheering squad. No longer necessary. They do, however, have an ace in the hole.

Echo brings them to Binks, while Rex-and-Anakin disappears off to a) hide themselves until the right moment and b) get used to what is apparently a major upgrade on Rex’s part. Binks is at his cheerful best, not exactly oblivious to the danger this all represents but so damn optimistic about it. Like he thinks this is a film or a TV show and because they are the heroes everything must turn out alright in the end. Obi-Wan doesn’t tell him that’s not how real life works, because if this is the end, then Binks deserves to face it optimistic and happy and not cowering in terror.

Still the prophet comes through and gives them both location and time. The only problem is they have less than an hour and really, they need to be in place in advance. At Echo’s urging Plo finally gives in, his calm acceptance of the respirator he’s forced to wear giving way to practicality and he lets the archangel heal him. Then Echo transports them all, car included, to the graveyard where Shmi is buried. Obi-Wan wants to go and look, but he knows they don’t have the time, so instead he, Ahsoka and Plo settle in, ready for when Xan appears.

Everything starts off well; a little too well as far as Obi-Wan is concerned. Fives appears, then Xan who is quite definitely not himself.

“You aren’t Michael,” Fives drawls at the sight of the thing inhabiting Xan. He looks terrible, Obi-Wan notes. Granted the two times Obi-Wan has met Fives the archangel has not looked all that stable, especially as he’d been covered in gravedirt and blood respectively. Now however there is something distinctly unhinged and broken about him, a look in his eyes that tells them all that Wolffe had been right, he has given up.

“No, but then you aren’t Lucifer,” the Darkness’ voice echoes dangerously, twisting Xan’s voice into something immense and inhuman.

“I guess we’re going to do this dance anyway,” Fives smirks and draws his blade. Obi-Wan nearly recoils in horror when he sees that the silver blade is still stained rust-brown with Echo’s blood.

“How about we don’t?” Echo sees that and clearly decides that enough is enough as he strides out from cover. Fives’ expression when he sees his twin is likely to haunt Obi-Wan for a very long time, assuming that they live through this.

“ _Eyayah,_ ” Fives breathes in clear disbelief. “What trickery is this?”

“ _Hell-ooo, Trickster?_ ” Echo rolls his eyes. “Seriously, I keep telling people this and somehow they’re still surprised,” his eyes flash dangerously. “Time to stop Rayshea’e.”

“I’ll kill you,” Fives warns his eyes darting over Echo’s shoulder to the Darkness.

“No, you won’t,” Echo replies confidently and then they are both moving.

Two archangels clash with a thunderclap that shakes the very ground Obi-Wan is standing on. Trees groan under the strain and the wind howls. Obi-Wan knows Echo plans on keeping this as short as possible, he dreads how much damage is going to happen anyway. The Darkness watches the fight, evidentially amused, before it turns to their hiding spot.

“I do hope this isn’t your only plan?” it asks, twisting Xan’s face.

“Not by a long shot,” Obi-Wan exits cover next, Ahsoka and Plo flanking him. “Get out of my brother,” he says levelling one of Rex’s pistols at the Darkness. Ahsoka has the other, Plo has the Colt. They might not kill the Darkness but they will put a dent in it, especially as they’re pretty certain that it isn’t free enough to inhabit a dead body and any one of the bullets will definitely kill Xan. Again.

The Darkness however just watches them, still amused, and then smiles, dark and dangerous.

“No,” it says, as if that were it. As if they were expected to give up, just like that. Obi-Wan doesn’t give it another chance, he fires the pistol. Ahsoka and Plo are less than a heartbeat behind. They fire and keep on firing until their clips empty and then they wait. Uncertain if it has worked or not.

With the sound of a sonic boom a figure crashes into the ground to one side at breakneck speed, followed by a second, Obi-Wan looks over just in time to see Echo pin his twin to the ground and hold him there. Echo looks up, grimacing as he focuses on Xan. For a second the world is still.

Then Plo gurgles. Obi-Wan realises with horror what has just happened. It must have been so fast that their human eyes couldn’t keep up with it, because every single one of the bullets the three of them had fired were now buried in Plo’s chest and the Darkness doesn’t even seem the slightest bit phased.

“ _Plo!_ ” Ahsoka screams as their friend, mentor and surrogate uncle collapses, the light in his eyes fading instantly, a puppet with his strings cut. Obi-Wan watches, shock pinning him to the spot as blood sluggishly pools under Plo’s body, staining the grass red and then black. With a scream of utter fury Ahsoka lashes forward, all anger and hatred and wrath. She doesn’t get far, Obi-Wan doesn’t even realise he’s moving until he has his arms around her, holding her back. Ahsoka is strong for a seventeen year old and Obi-Wan has seen some of the gymnastics she can do when she has the space to work, but he’s bigger and stronger than her and he knows better than to give her any kind of leverage. He holds her back, stops her from a suicidal charge on the Darkness.

The Darkness itself just watches with a faintly amused expression.

“Well,” it says calmly. “That was fun.”

“Then this is going to be a blast,” Rex’s voice interrupts even as a blinding light erupts around the graveyard and Xanatos is thrown nearly twenty feet into a large tombstone which crumples under the impact. The archangel is furious, that much is obvious, as he stalks towards his prey using every inch of Anakin’s height and intimidation to his advantage. The Darkness crawls off the floor and spits blood before turning to face Rex, the degree of loathing the Darkness has for Lucifer is more than evident on its face.

“ _Morningstar,_ ” it hisses, all the chilled calm evaporating in favour of burning hate.

“Hi,” Rex replies blithely. “Long time no see,” he doesn’t give the Darkness any chance beyond that before he is moving, blade in hand, and Obi-Wan blinks and misses whatever happens next. Whatever it is, it results in Rex’s blade buried through Xan’s heart and the Darkness spitting what sounds like curses but in no language Obi-Wan has ever heard at him.

“You cannot kill me,” it spits and Rex huffs.

“It’s not you I’m killing,” he says and the promptly smites Xanatos. Obi-Wan feels bad, that is his brother, but he knows none of them have the choice.

On the one hand, they were right, smiting Xanatos seems to be enough that the Darkness can no longer stay inside the vessel. On the other hand, the Darkness is no longer in a vessel and is _pissed_. It surrounds Rex, broiling cloud and black fire and Rex-and-Anakin screams in agony. Obi-Wan can’t move, he’s frozen to the spot as he hears his friend and his brother scream and there is nothing he can do about it. Fortunately Echo is not anywhere near as limited.

Fives is pinned in place by two angel blades through his shoulders, cursing and in pain, but clearly neither dying nor causing trouble, which leaves Echo free to break through to Rex. He lights up, as bright as the sun, and launches himself through the Darkness. Whatever part of the Darkness that is currently free of the Mark can clearly stand up to one archangel, but not two and with a shrieking hiss that makes Obi-Wan’s ears want to bleed, it recoils. It doesn’t leave though; it simply spreads out across the graveyard plunging the midmorning light into eternal night. They are surrounded and enveloped and, from the look on Echo and Rex’s faces, trapped.

Still this is what they had planned; a stalemate that no one could win to force the hand of the one watching and orchestrating this.

For a moment no one moves. Echo is supporting Rex, who looks like Anakin after one of his more spectacular crashes, while Obi-Wan holds on to Ahsoka, not entirely sure if he is holding her back or just holding her close. Then, the stillness is broken by the sound of cruel laughter and the slow, haunting clap of someone applauding them.

“I confess, I am impressed,” a silky, sickly sweet voice announces. “Ani, my dear boy, you have exceeded my every expectation,” Obi-Wan turns, as does everyone else, to see the figure who had not been there a moment ago. Dressed in some sort of academic robe in black the man doesn’t _look_ like a demon, but then most demons didn’t. An older face that might have been kindly but for the cruel smirk he was wearing and the fact that his eyes burned a horrible, hateful yellow. He was not anyone that Obi-Wan knew, but he was, apparently, someone that his brother knew.

“ _Professor Palpatine?_ ” Anakin’s voice is hoarse. Obi-Wan knows that Rex has allowed him this, is allowing him to speak to get answers because Obi-Wan might not know the face but he knows the name. Anakin’s supervisor at college, his mentor and friend, who had been so understanding about Padme’s death and Anakin’s subsequent dropping out of college. Palpatine, Anakin explained, was Padme’s uncle and had been the one to introduce them. And apparently he was a demon.

“Did you really think I would leave such important pawns to chance?” Sidious said. “But you impress me, Anakin. You were always going to say yes, it was your fate, but to step up willingly? To place your life in Lucifer’s hands? To _trust_ him? Now that, I wasn’t expecting.”

“You know nothing of me,” Anakin’s uncertainty and betrayal is burnt away by Rex’s protective fury. “And nothing of my vessel. You’ve played a clever game, Sidious, but it’s over with now. Without a vessel the Darkness can’t help you and powerful or not, you are only a demon. You can’t beat me.”

“I don’t need to,” Sidious replied calmly. “Anakin is going to do it for me. That _is_ what he was born to do.”

“Like hell I will,” Anakin again and Obi-Wan doesn’t know how they keep switching between the two of them, back and forth, but he approves if only because he’s certain it means that Rex and Anakin are watching one another’s backs.

“A bit overconfident are we?” Echo points out, sensibly. “I mean, even assuming you have a plan for Rex, which I doubt. Hi, also an archangel and still only a demon. It’s two on one, Sidious, so give up,”

“Oh is it?” Sidious’s eyes flicker to Echo dismissively. “Gabriel, it’s been a long time, but really you know full well _good soldiers follow orders_ ,” there is power to those words, unsettling and disturbing, and Obi-Wan feels sick just hearing them.

Then Echo goes rigid, eyes widening with shock and horror and Obi-Wan knows what has just happened.

“Kill the humans,” Sidious orders gesturing at Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.

Echo turns, and Obi-Wan swallows heavily. _Shit_.


	13. Chapter 13

_Good soldiers follow orders._

_I’ve heard it, once or twice, before I left, but I have no idea what it means._

_Bane was killed ten centuries ago. Did I know he had the Mark? I… feel like I should have known._

_It wasn’t a trick. I wasn’t planning on leaving. You know that. I wasn’t given the choice._

So many little things that add up to something none of them had even thought to consider. They thought Echo had left early enough, soon enough that he wasn’t controlled like everyone else was. Had that been wishful thinking on their parts? Or had it been wilful ignorance? None of them had asked _why_ Echo left, it hadn’t mattered because he was helping them. Yet now Obi-Wan wishes they had. Has Echo been an unwilling spy all along? Does Sidious know about their plan? The rings? Does it matter?

“Echo, _no_ ,” Rex cries out even as Echo lets go of him, leaving him slumped and battered, and instead approaches Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. “Echo, _stop_ ,” Rex is gearing up for another fight, that much is obvious. The buckled trees around them are a good indication why that isn’t a good idea. Echo and Fives’ fight hadn’t caused as much damage in the open as it had in the cramped confines of Elysian, but if Rex and Echo go all out Obi-Wan and Ahsoka will end up dead by proximity anyway.

“Good soldiers follow orders,” Echo’s expression is terrifyingly blank, like some of the angels that have accompanied Fox and Ponds during the last two years. Obi-Wan knows he isn’t going to stop, but that doesn’t mean Obi-Wan isn’t going to try and reach him. The fact that he and Ahsoka aren’t already dead, when Echo is damn fast if he wants to be, seems like a good indication that Echo is fighting in there.

“You’re not a soldier anymore, Eyayah,” Obi-Wan says firmly. “You’re a Trickster, remember? You don’t take orders from anyone.”

“You can fight it, Eyayah,” Ahsoka pleads, sensing where Obi-Wan is going with this. “Remember what Rex and Cody said. You can fight it; you just need a reason to.”

“Good soldiers follow orders,” Echo repeats blankly, raising his hand and burning with grace, ready to smite them on the spot. There is pain in his eyes as he says it though, and Obi-Wan knows Echo is losing that fight. Rex and Cody had said they needed a reason to fight… but they also needed _time_ , time is not in their favour.

“Good soldiers follow _good_ orders,” Rex is there, suddenly, growling in warning. “Not stupid ones. I taught you that, Echo, and I’m not going to let you do this,” his blade is still in his hand, coated in Xan’s blood, and he looks more than a little wary about going toe to toe with his brother. Around them the Darkness seems to quiver with excitement at the prospect of another fight between archangels.

“Yes, you are,” Sidious interjects calmly. “Because Anakin isn’t going to let you interfere, isn’t that right Anakin?”

“Like hell it is,” Anakin growls out even as his eyes begin to burn with Rex’s grace.

“Then I suppose I have no use for Padme’s children and can have Raphael and Raguel kill them,” Sidious says and the light of Rex’s grace dies in Anakin’s eyes instantly. Obi-Wan feels his heart stop as he looks into Anakin’s eyes and sees the disbelieving horror that comes to them.

“Anakin, no, it’s a trap,” Obi-Wan breathes.

“They’re dead,” Anakin chokes out. “They’re dead. I killed them,” he hadn’t, but Obi-Wan knows all too well that Anakin blames himself. He’d dreamt about Padme’s death for weeks in advance, but he hadn’t known, hadn’t understood, what it meant and when she died… 

“You killed Padme,” Sidious purrs as if sensing Anakin’s hesitation and his guilt. “But her children lived. They’re, what, almost five years old now? A boy and a girl. She named them, you know, Luke and Leia Skywalker. How quaint.”

Obi-Wan can see it in Anakin’s eyes; can see that his brother believes, and because he believes he is stuck. They all are, none of them know what to do now.

“Step aside Anakin, let Gabriel do his work,” Sidious orders and Obi-Wan swallows heavily. Luke and Leia, Anakin’s children. He shifts so that instead of holding Ahsoka he slips his hand into hers and squeezes gently. She squeezes back, Obi-Wan doesn’t know if she’s gotten the message and is agreeing with him, or if she is just coming to her own decision, but it doesn’t matter.

“Step aside, Anakin,” he whispers to his brother. Anakin rears back, horrified. “ _Rex_ , step aside,” he speaks to the archangel inside and knows that Rex at least will be pragmatic about this. Plo is already dead, and Rex doesn’t want to fight his brother anyway.

“I’m sorry,” Anakin whispers but Obi-Wan smiles at him.

“It’s okay,” he says softly. “I love you Anakin,” Anakin blinks away tears and then moves, stepping aside so that he is no longer a barrier between them and Echo.

“Good boy,” Sidious purrs. “Gabriel,” the name is an order and Echo steps forward once more, hand ready to smite.

“ _No_ ,” someone interrupts and Obi-Wan glances over.

They had forgotten Fives. Fives, who has a blade in each hand and shoulders that bleed freely. There is a look of madness in his eyes, fury and pain and a hundred bad things. His eyes are fixed on Echo and it is clear he is more than ready for round three of their fight. Obi-Wan doesn’t dare breathe as Echo pauses and looks to Sidious for direction. The demon sighs.

“Come now, Sariel, _good soldiers follow orders_ ,” the underlying tone is dangerous and still honey sweet, cajoling without giving room for disobedience and for a second Obi-Wan panics, thinks that surely Fives will join Echo in bringing about their deaths, but then Fives surprises them all.

“Fuck. You!” he growls and Sidious’ eyes flash for the first time with annoyance.

“Gabriel, your brother is being disobedient,” he says and Echo turns on the spot and launches himself at Fives. The very world seems to scream in pain at the first clash and the Darkness writhes around them, cruel and taunting and excited.

“He broke free,” Rex whispers watching the twins jump back into their fight. “For Echo, he broke free.”

“Apparently so,” Sidious’ voice is a hair less calm and collected. “How disappointing. Never mind. I suppose all it does is mean I’ll have to move the timetable up a little. Anakin, my boy, come here,” it is clear Sidious will allow no disobedience and Anakin goes.

“I want proof,” Anakin demands. “I won’t do anything for you, until I know you have them,” he says and Sidious just studies him for a second and then hums.

“Very well,” he says and then pulls a smart phone from his pocket. Obi-Wan, relegated to a spectator again, looks as Sidious brings up a video on the small screen and tilts it towards Anakin. On it there are two small children playing with the familiar figures of Fox and Ponds and Obi-Wan knows Sidious is telling the truth. There is no question if they are Anakin and Padme’s children, the little boy – sandy haired and blue eyed but with Padme’s smile – and the little girl – Padme’s dark hair and dark eyes but Anakin’s scowl – are too much like their parents.

“What do you want?” Anakin asks plainly. “I thought this was all about the Apocalypse, sacrificing souls to the Darkness to break it free. Why do you need me? You’ve got your final showdown between two archangels,” he indicates up to the sky where the very air screams with the clashing of the two titans.

“It is, and I do,” Sidious agrees. “But that isn’t all I want. The Darkness needs a vessel, and preferably one I can control still after the Mark has been broken.”

“I thought you wanted Obi-Wan?” Anakin frowns, confused.

“Initially, yes, but if the Darkness was to take Michael’s place in the Apocalypse then the first vessel would never survive, not that degree of energy burn. Now you’ve provided the other archangels I need, so the Darkness can claim its true vessel,” Sidious answers, dismissing Obi-Wan entirely. “Your brother was only a means to an end.”

“You may have missed this, Sidious,” Rex intrudes then. “But this vessel is already occupied.”

“That’s easily solved,” Sidious raises a hand and suddenly there is a strange knife which looks like it’s been made out of a jawbone in his hand. Sidious carves the knife through the air and Obi-Wan could literally _feel_ some kind of power being rent. Anakin-and-Rex screams even as the Darkness, still surrounding them, twists and coils and tightens like a noose around Rex-and-Anakin’s neck.

Suddenly, Rex is falling to the floor, a choked off sob is torn from the lips of his old vessel, the one with the shorn blond hair. Anakin is left standing, the Darkness curling around him, stroking and purring at him. Obi-Wan gives in then, he can’t stand by any longer, and he and Ahsoka are by Rex’s side an instant later. The archangel clings to them, gasping and sobbing and close to hysterics even though he is not visibly injured. Something has just happened, Obi-Wan knows, that is more than just tearing Rex out of his vessel.

“What did you just do?” Obi-Wan looks up at Sidious and the demon smiles blandly.

“I removed the troublesome archangel,” Sidious replies and then pauses for a beat. “Of course I was rather disinclined to remove his grace with him; I _do_ need him to remain controllable.”

“ _What?_ ” Obi-Wan and Ahsoka gasp in shock.

“Rex’s grace,” Anakin announces then, his voice trembling with _something_. “I can still feel it, inside me.”

“Lucifer was right, in a way, I could never defeat him in a battle even if he wasn’t in his True Vessel,” Sidious explains smugly. “But I didn’t need to. Brute power is rarely the answer to life’s problems. Now, Anakin, it is time,” he looks up at the sky. “Gabriel! Time to finish playing with your food.”

There is a flash and then a scream that pierces through Obi-Wan’s ears and this time he feels the trickle of warm blood that says he has, at best, perforated ear drums. The crashes above come to an abrupt halt as two figures appear in the air above them. For a second it looks like the twins are embracing, then Obi-Wan sees the blood slowly dripping down to Earth and the expression on Fives’ face.

“Goodbye, vod’ika,” Echo whispers quietly and then twists his hand. The blade that Obi-Wan can’t see, hidden as it is by the bodies of the two archangels, turns and Fives lets out another, high-pitched scream before light begins to pour from his lips and eyes. The world rocks, the ground underneath Obi-Wan’s feet, rumbles and shakes and the light above becomes so blinding that even when he looks away and covers his face Obi-Wan can feel it burning his eyes.

When the light finally fades and Obi-Wan looks back, blinking spots away from his eyes, Fives’ body has dropped to the ground, landing with a faint thud as the ash of his burned wings settles all around him. A moment later Echo lands, the flickering light of immense wings tucking back into unreality where they can’t be seen by any human. For a second everything is still but then Obi-Wan feels it. The welling of something huge and ancient, a Power that Obi-Wan can barely grasp. The Darkness wraps itself around Anakin until he is almost completely invisible in the shadow.

Obi-Wan realises then. An archangel just died. It is the Apocalypse and an archangel just _died_. That is… bad.

“It is time,” Sidious’ triumphant smile is terrible to behold. His voice echoes, reverberates in Obi-Wan’s ears with that terrible dark power. “Anakin, come,” hesitantly Anakin steps forward, his eyes dark. Obi-Wan watches with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. They have failed, Obi-Wan knows, they have gambled and they have failed.

Fives is dead, and Echo lost to them. Rex is all but human and while Anakin has Rex’s grace and the rings he has no idea how to use either, even if the lives of his children weren’t on the line. Obi-Wan has no idea if Sidious knows their plan, but it is clear he has come prepared for them to have _something_ even if it is a desperate last chance. Resigning himself to the loss, Obi-Wan bows his head holding onto Rex and Ahsoka and wishing that they had managed to find Cody before this happened. They would die together but he, wherever he is, will die alone.

The world around them is screaming. Obi-Wan can feel the earth churning beneath his feet. He wonders what the devastation will be like, if this is the eye of the storm and elsewhere the world buckles under the power that they can feel here. Billions of souls are about to be sacrificed to a malevolent god, because they failed.

“It is time, my dear boy, time to kneel to me and to accept your fate,” Sidious says and Anakin bows his head.

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?” Sidious prompts.

“Yes, my Master,” Anakin says going down to one knee.

“Then let us begin,” Sidious says and raises both hands, one still holding that strange knife. With Anakin’s consent suddenly the Darkness is filling his brother, sinking into his skin. “Let the whole of Creation be born anew, by the power of the Darkness.”

Obi-Wan looks back up, willing himself to focus on his brother. If he is to die here, having failed, he will die with his little brother as the last thing he will see. Dying isn’t so bad, he acknowledged, at least it isn’t hell hounds this time. And Anakin is looking back at him, despite the very obvious pain as the Darkness rips it way into his skin. Anakin’s eyes are sad, apologetic, as if Obi-Wan isn’t fully aware that they have been outmanoeuvred here. This isn’t Anakin’s fault and he tries to school his face into a stern look that tells his brother this without having the words to speak. Anakin’s lips twitch slightly, amused and mocking, and Obi-wan rolls his eyes. Even now, at the end, Anakin is still an irreverent brat.

“Sorry Master,” Anakin speaks up suddenly. “I’m gonna have to stop you there.”

“Anakin, what…?”

“Excuse me?” Obi-Wan and Sidious speak at the same time even as Anakin draws something from his pocket.

“You really shouldn’t have let me get this close,” he says and then slams the four joined rings down to the ground. For a second the world pauses, as if trying to decide how to react to this new development, then the earth trembles and a wind picks up around them. Sidious seems to realise something is wrong, because he tries to escape but Anakin lashes up and grabs him, hand clenching around the demon’s wrist.

“I can’t beat you in a fight,” Anakin growls at him. “Even if you didn’t have my children. But I don’t need to, I just need to take you with me,” underneath the two of them, right where the rings are, the Earth begins to tear apart in the exact same way it had a year ago when Rex had first been released from the Cage. Obi-Wan watches, breathless, as Anakin clings to the demon with all the strength Rex’s grace gives him and Sidious screams in anger.

Then they are falling.

Obi-Wan lunges for the portal but this time it is Ahsoka’s turn to drag _him_ back. He is shouting, screaming for Anakin. This wasn’t the plan! Anakin isn’t meant to go with Sidious into the Cage!

“ _Anakin!_ ” he screams again but it is too late. Sidious and Anakin and the Darkness vanish into the tear between Earth and Hell and then a moment later the tear seals up leaving nothing but an empty graveyard and a terrible, awful quiet.

“Anakin…” Obi-Wan breathes the name, not understanding. “ _Ani._ ”

“He’s gone, Obi-Wan,” Ahsoka whispers into his ear. “He’s gone.”


	14. Chapter 14

The world falls silent, still. As if someone has turned off the power and even the faint hum of life in the distance cuts out. Obi-Wan sits in the grass and stares at the spot where his brother had disappeared, empty and hollow.

Anakin. In the Cage. With the Darkness and the most powerful Demon to have ever lived.

Obi-Wan feels sick.

He _is_ sick. He retches and sobs and cries out for his little brother, but it feels other to him, separate, as if he is a spectator in his own body. It feels like the very worst of his depression, crashing down on him all at once. Anakin is gone. Gone. Not even dead, just gone. Trapped for eternity with the most evil things in existence. He is gone and there is nothing Obi-Wan can do about it.

“Rex?” Ahsoka’s voice reaches him, somehow. “Are you okay?”

“ _No_ ,” Rex’s voice is a ruin, all emotion and pain. When Obi-Wan turns to him the familiar face, so often steady and calm or smirking, is now twisted by grief and guilt and pain. “It _hurts_ ,” Rex crawls forward, edging closer to Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, closer to where Anakin had vanished. “Oh Anakin,” the archangel – former archangel now – whispers his arms wrapped tightly around his own chest as if holding himself together. “Anakin, I’m sorry…” Rex closes his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Obi-Wan says nothing, he doesn’t know what he would say if he said it. What could he possibly offer Rex now? Absolution or blame? Forgiveness or condemnation? This wasn’t how the plan was supposed to go.

“Echo?” Ahsoka is turning now, her eyes feverishly searching out their last member, pointedly not looking in the direction of Plo’s body. Obi-Wan does look, but only for a second, he can’t stand it. Instead he looks towards one of the two other bodies in the field, the still form of Fives and the ash that has burned the grass around him. Fives' face is turned towards them and Obi-Wan can see the tears staining his cheeks, his once golden eyes a dull mud-brown, glazed and empty.

A quiet choked off sob has Obi-Wan turning back to Rex again and the once-archangel is staring at his brother’s body. Fives meant little to Obi-Wan, except in that he was an enemy and a potential ally and he was important to Cody and Echo and Rex. Yet, Obi-Wan is certain, when this numbness ends he will feel for the lost archangel if only for what it will mean to his friends. Right now Anakin is gone and Obi-Wan can’t feel anything.

“Echo, _please?_ ” Ahsoka is on her feet and Obi-Wan doesn’t know how, how can she be so strong right now, after everything they have seen here today? But she is on her feet, still looking for the last archangel.

“He’s gone,” Rex whispers quietly, “He left the moment the Cage shut again,” the moment Sidious’ control over him was weakened. Obi-Wan doesn’t know what that means. Doesn’t know if Echo has broken free or if he has just gone on some nameless task for the Darkness. He supposes they will find out, eventually.

“Will he be alright?” Ahsoka looks back to Rex.

“I doubt it,” Rex struggles to sit up, somehow manages it, and continues to stare at his brother’s body. “No archangel has ever died before,” his voice cracks. “Of us all… this shouldn’t have happened. Not like this. Not Fives,” he bows his head and weeps. Quiet broken sobs breaking his composure. It’s clear he can’t say more, but then, he doesn’t need to.

Echo adored Fives, they all know that. If he will survive being forced to kill his twin, none of them could guess.

“I promised to look after him,” Ahsoka whispers, eyes downcast. “Morai made me promise,” with that she suddenly sits again, collapsing to the ground as if her legs won’t hold her up anymore. “What do we do now?”

Obi-Wan doesn’t answer. He doesn’t know.

Clearly, neither does Rex, because he says nothing. Instead they sit there, in the field with their dead, for too long. The sun beats down on them, in shock and grieving, as morning passes into afternoon. Slowly numbness and shock give way to a broken exhaustion and Obi-Wan stirs. No less haunted, no less weighed down, just… needing to move, to not sit here in this spot where his brother disappeared. He stands, slowly, his body aching as he casts his eyes about for something, anything to do that isn’t just sitting there. He needs to do _something_ or he is going to scream, or worse.

“We…” his voice his hoarse, his lips dry to the point of cracking. “We s-should prepare pyres,” the slightest of stutters in his words wouldn’t have gone unnoticed on any other day but today he is in a field with the dead and Rex and Ahsoka are too exhausted to notice. Neither of them stir as Obi-Wan heads to the nearest trees and started to collect entire branches of wood, dragging them back slowly to the graveyard. There is plenty to find, the battles between Echo and Fives had caused more than enough destruction. It is broad daylight and Obi-Wan would never normally dare do this when they are so easily seen by any passing cop, but he has a feeling that, today at least, nothing will interrupt.

Rex is the first of his two friends to join him, getting to his feet unsteadily and lurching over. He is little help however, his hands shake as he takes one end of the branch Obi-Wan was struggling to drag, and it slips through his fingers. The former archangel hisses and flinches back, they both stare at his palm and at the blood welling up from the small cut the broken edge of the branch had left behind on suddenly vulnerable skin. Bright red and too human. Rex lets out a quiet whine, tucking his wounded hand against his chest as if he had broken every bone in it. Obi-Wan doesn’t call him on it. He knows it’s not the pain that has Rex reacting like that, but the knowledge, the understanding of just how vulnerable he is now.

Rex is human. Rex will die, one day.

“Let me help,” Ahsoka arrives then, taking up the other end of the branch. Rex says nothing, only nods and moves out of their way, watching the two of them slowly but surely build three pyres. They collect salt and fuel from the trunk of Anakin’s beloved car and collect the three bodies, laying them out. There isn’t much question about who is going to light them. Ahsoka shows Rex how to light the match he is given and, after a fumbling attempt with hands that are still shaking badly, they each throw a lit match at one of the pyres.

“I’m so sorry Xanatos,” Obi-Wan murmurs to his half-brother.

“Goodbye Plo,” Ahsoka whispers brokenly.

“Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum,” Rex’s voice is stronger than Ahsoka’s, but somehow more brittle. The language of Heaven falls from his lips like a prayer and Obi-Wan has to wonder if it is a prayer, even if it isn’t one directed towards God. Rex doesn’t look like he’s willing to translate so Obi-Wan guesses he’s not going to find out. “Ret'urcye mhi, Sariel, Rayshea’e, ner vod’ika.”

The flames consume Plo, Xan and Fives and the three of them watch until there is nothing left but ash. Obi-Wan feels like it’s an entirely appropriate phrase for how this has all turned out.

Rex turns away first, moves over to the one patch of grass they have been avoiding and picks up four rings. He stares at them for a moment, then, with a quiet sigh tugs until they break apart. Three rings go into one pocket, the fourth into another.

“Where do we go from here?” he asks them. “I don’t… I don’t know how to be human.”

“No one knows how to be human,” Obi-Wan replies. “We just make it up as we go along,” Rex lets out an entirely too bitter laugh at that.

“I need to find Echo,” Ahsoka says, tears still staining her cheeks as she turns away from the final sight of Plo. “I made a promise.”

“You might not like what you find,” Rex warns and Ahsoka smiles, albeit brokenly.

“Echo was there for me when Mom died, when Famine…” she cuts herself off. “I have to try,” Rex nods, and Obi-Wan knows he will never admit it but he is grateful. Instead he looks to Obi-Wan and lays a hand on the pocket.

“I have something to return to its rightful owner,” Rex says quietly, “But then… I don’t know how to be human, but I know I don’t have to be alone in learning it. Cody and me, we can work it out together,” his eyes are fever bright. “You’ll help me?” he asks Obi-Wan.

For a second Obi-Wan is fully prepared to say yes. Finding Cody… it might well be the only thing that keeps him sane, now that Anakin is gone. He needs his angel, even if Cody is human now. He needs the one person who has never judged him, never found him wanting. He needs to not be alone, because he knows how far he will go for his brother and knows that is a terrible, terrible place for him to go. Yet even as he opens his mouth to agree his voice fails him.

He remembers Anakin’s eyes and Padme’s smile. He remembers Padme’s hair and Anakin’s pout.

He feels an itch in the back of his mind. A deal, yet to be completed.

“I’m sorry, Rex,” he says instead and Rex reels back. “I… They’re all that’s left of Anakin and I can’t… I can’t leave them to Fox and Ponds. My niece and nephew, Rex. And… I made a deal. Wolffe will come to collect eventually.”

Rex looks like he is ready to protest, right up until Obi-Wan mentions the deal, then he closes his mouth and falls silent for far too long.

“We all go our separate ways, then,” Ahsoka murmurs quietly. “After all this…”

“We’ll stay in touch,” Obi-Wan promises. “We’ll get Rex a phone; make sure he’s better at using it than Cody is. We have different paths, but we’re family,” he meets Rex’s eyes. “When you find him,” his voice hitches. “Tell him I love him. And the very _second_ I’m free of Wolffe, the _second_ Luke and Leia are safe? I’m coming to find you both.”

“I will,” Rex nods and then his lips twitch into a thin smirk, nothing like the ones he wore before, “But you can tell him yourself. Because when I find him, then we’ll be heading straight for _you_.”

“Good, _good_ ,” Ahsoka agrees, nodding fiercely. “And me and Echo… well we won’t have to rely on traffic reports, so we’ll drop in to check on you all.”

None of them even suggest that any one of them could fail. That Cody could be anywhere in the world and Rex didn’t have the experience being human for that kind of search. That Fox and Ponds could, in lieu of any further orders, decide to kill the twins. That there might not be anything left of Echo for Ahsoka to find. It doesn’t matter, they have to try.

What matters is that they are still family. The only family they have left, for the moment.

“Come on,” Obi-Wan says, “I’ll give you both a lift into town. Rex needs a phone anyway.”

They collect Rex’s pistols and the Colt and pile into Anakin’s car. It’s strange, so very strange, to sit behind the wheel, Obi-Wan thinks.

He glances sideways at Ahsoka.

He’ll never be comfortable driving this car without Anakin, but Anakin would never forgive him for selling it either. Ahsoka, on the other hand. He turns away, focuses on the road and on leaving the graveyard behind. He doesn’t consider, now, that the small patch of grass is the last resting place of his whole family.

No. Not his whole family. Luke and Leia are out there and Obi-Wan will save them. Somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a:  
> Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum - I'm still alive, though you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal  
> Ret'urcye mhi, Sariel, Rayshea’e, ner vod’ika - Goodbye, Sariel, Fives, my little brother
> 
> And so we come to the end. I have no plans to continue this into a series, it was more about exploring the idea of the crossover and where it could go. However I know there are probably a bunch of unanswered questions, so if people want I may be persuaded to do a bit of a Q&A. If you're interested, let me know in the comments and post any specific questions you want answered rather than me trying to come up with what people might want to know.
> 
> Thank you everyone for reading, now I'm going to go and try and persuade a bratty pre-teen Sherlock Holmes to behave... I'm not feeling too confident, tbh. He's being very bratty.


End file.
